Official data showed, on Wednesday, that Japan's imports of crude oil rose by 13.1 percent last August, compared to the previous year, driven by a jump in supplies from America, as well as the contribution of increased supplies from Mexico and a recovery in purchases from Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported that imports rose to 2.51 million barrels per day, recording a monthly increase, for the third month in a row, despite the turmoil resulting from the conflict in the Middle East.
Imports from the Middle East fell by 28.4 percent year-on-year in August.
Although the pace of decline in shipments from the Middle East was less severe compared to the declines recorded in previous months, it exceeded the 21.4 percent decline recorded in July.
In contrast, imports from the United States jumped more than 12-fold, compared to the previous year, to reach 844,685 barrels per day, and supplies from Central and South America, including Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia, also witnessed a sharp increase.
Japan also imported crude from Australia, Canada, Brunei and South Sudan.
It is noteworthy that the Middle East region used to account for 94 percent of Japan’s crude imports, but this share decreased in August to 60.7 percent, recording an annual decline, for the eleventh month in a row, while the United States’ share reached 33.7 percent, a percentage close to Saudi Arabia’s share of 34 percent.
The data showed that sales of domestic petroleum products in Japan decreased last month by 3.2 percent, compared to the previous year, to reach 2.19 million barrels per day.
Gasoline sales declined by 3.7 percent to reach 813,639 barrels per day, while kerosene sales decreased by 16.9 percent, compared to the previous year, to reach 53,542 barrels per day.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi intends to pledge a quick and flexible government response to any unexpected movements in the economy and financial markets, while linking the volume of annual debt issuances to interest rate developments, in an attempt to reassure investors concerned about spending plans and the high cost of government borrowing.
The Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday that Takaichi will present these trends in a policy speech before Parliament on October 5, the first day of a special session of the Legislative Council.
According to a draft of the letter seen by the newspaper, Takaichi is expected to say: “When the economy and markets witness unexpected movements, we will analyze their impact and respond flexibly.”
It is also expected to clarify that the government will determine the size of annual government bond issuances taking into account developments in interest rates, a message that is of great importance after concerns about Japanese public finances pushed bond yields to historically high levels.
Takaichi's ambitious spending plans are under pressure from markets, as benchmark government bond yields are on track to record a fifth consecutive double-digit quarterly increase, amid investors' concern about rising borrowing and debt servicing costs.
Takaichi said in an interview with Yomiuri newspaper last month that the government will seek to set a ceiling on new bond issuances at 40 trillion yen (about 255 billion dollars) in the budget for the next fiscal year, in reference to an attempt to achieve a balance between financing economic policies and maintaining financial discipline.
Although the administration has currently ruled out preparing a supplementary budget, the Prime Minister will confirm that the government is ready to move according to economic conditions if developments arise that require it.
At the same time, the Takaichi government is trying to confront prevailing perceptions in the markets that it is adopting “resuscitation” policies based on financial expansion to support growth and inflation, stressing that it realizes the necessity of keeping public financial conditions under control.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said this week that she had made it clear to US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent that Takaichi is not a supporter of recovery policies, in light of the markets' sensitivity to any return to broad expansionary policies similar to those associated with the "Abenomics" era.
But investors are still awaiting details on how a number of government plans will be funded. The administration has not yet fully explained the sources of funding for the proposal to temporarily suspend the tax on food, at a time when defense spending is also expected to rise.
This uncertainty has kept the bond market in a state of tension, especially with the rise in interest rates and the increasing cost of servicing debt in a country that already suffers from one of the highest levels of public debt among major economies.
Takaichi's highly anticipated letter comes at a time when the government is trying to convince investors that its ability to respond to economic shocks will not come at the expense of fiscal discipline. Markets will be focused on whether her speech will provide additional details on financing spending plans and how to adjust bond issuances in an environment of persistently rising yields.
The Saudi labor market is approaching a different stage in the process of reducing unemployment, after the rate among citizens has become at levels lower than the target set by “Vision 2030”, while the challenge is gradually moving from increasing jobs to expanding the base of participation, improving the quality of opportunities, and absorbing more Saudis in an economy whose structure is changing rapidly.
Data from the General Authority for Statistics for the second quarter of 2026 showed a decline in the unemployment rate among Saudis to 6.5 percent on an annual basis, compared to the stability of the overall population unemployment at 3 percent, at a time when indicators of youth and women’s participation and connection to the private sector continued to shape the features of the new phase of the labor market.
According to the data, the unemployment rate among Saudis increased slightly, by 0.1 percentage point, compared to the first quarter of the year, but recorded a decrease of 0.3 percentage points on an annual basis. The overall unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous quarter and 0.2 percentage point compared to the second quarter of 2025.
The performance of the labor market varied between the genders, as the unemployment rate among Saudi males decreased to 4.8 percent, from 4.9 percent in the first quarter, while it rose among Saudi women to 9.6 percent, from 9 percent. The participation rate of Saudi males in the labor force was 63.9 percent, compared to 33.7 percent for Saudi women.
Improvement in youth unemployment
The data showed a noticeable improvement in youth unemployment indicators, as the unemployment rate for the age group between 15 and 24 years decreased to 15.2 percent, from 16 percent in the previous quarter.
The unemployment rate among young Saudi women decreased by 0.9 percentage points to 19.5 percent, while among young males it decreased by 0.8 percentage points to 13 percent. In the main working age group between 25 and 54 years, the unemployment rate reached 5.5 percent, while it stabilized at 1.2 percent among those aged 55 years and over.
These indicators reflect the importance of the transformations taking place in the Saudi labor market, especially with the increased participation of citizens in economic activity and the expansion of job opportunities in new sectors, in parallel with nationalization programs and the reshaping of the relationship between job seekers and the private sector.
The private sector is at the forefront of options
The authority’s data showed that 96.7 percent of unemployed Saudis were willing to accept job opportunities in the private sector, while job seekers used, on average, three methods to search for a job.
Direct application to employers was topped by search methods, followed by the use of the unified national employment platform “Jadarat”, in addition to taking advantage of professional platforms to publish and update CVs.
The data also showed the willingness of the largest percentage of unemployed people to work eight hours or more per day, and to accept commuting to the workplace for a distance that takes up to an hour, which provides indications of the readiness of job seekers to adapt to the requirements of available jobs.
“Vision 2030” aims to reduce unemployment
The continued decline in Saudi unemployment comes in the context of the goals of “Vision 2030” aimed at increasing citizens’ participation in the labor market and enhancing the private sector’s contribution to job creation.
“Vision 2030” had set a reduction in the unemployment rate among Saudis to 7 percent by 2030 as part of its economic targets, after the rate was 11.6 percent in 2016, which makes the level of 6.5 percent recorded in the second quarter lower than the target set for the end of the decade.
This is accompanied by the expansion of nationalisation, training, qualification and employment support programmes, in addition to reforms aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the private sector and improving the alignment between citizens’ skills and the needs of the economy.
In July, following the conclusion of Article IV consultations with Saudi Arabia, the International Monetary Fund praised the gains achieved by the Kingdom in the labor market within “Vision 2030,” including increasing women’s participation in the workforce, in addition to enhancing the role of the private sector and supporting the non-oil economy.
The challenge in the next phase is not limited to reducing unemployment, but rather extends to raising the quality and sustainability of jobs and increasing the participation of Saudis in value-added sectors, in line with the economic transformation led by “Vision 2030.”
As the unemployment rate approaches historically low levels, the focus is gradually shifting from achieving a quantitative reduction in unemployment to deepening citizens’ participation in the labor market, raising their productivity, and ensuring the economy’s ability to absorb new entrants to the labor market in the coming years.
