Japan oil imports from Middle East in April lowest on record

TOKYO - Japan's crude oil imports from the Middle East in April plunged 67.2 percent from a year earlier, hitting the lowest volume on record since comparable data became available in 1979, according to government data released Thursday.

Japan relies heavily on oil imports from the Middle East. The country has been significantly impacted by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane, since the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.