Japan's oil and gas imports gained sharply in May from a year ago to fuel power plants running hard to compensate for nuclear reactors either crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami or shut later due to safety concerns.     

The increased demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil imports could peak in the summer as the country faces peak demand amid power shortages as nuclear plant run rates fall.    

Japan, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, imported 15.5 million kiloliters (3.14 million barrels per day) of crude oil last month, up 6.9% from a year ago, finance ministry data on Monday showed. That marks a recovery after imports had fallen 14% to 16.97 million kl in April.    

LNG imports by the world's top buyer of the fuel jumped 26% to 6.039 million tons, the data showed.    

The use of crude and fuel oil by utilities is on the rise as Japanese communities have increasingly opposed nuclear reactor restarts as the crisis drags on at Tokyo Electric's Fukushima Daiichi plant, which continues to leak radiation three months after an earthquake and tsunami devastated the region.    

Only 19 of the country's 54 nuclear reactors are operating, leaving the world's third-largest economy turning to other fuels, mainly LNG and oil, to try to plug a power shortfall that could hammer its industry and fragile economy during peak demand in the summer.