Japanese LNG imports jumped by almost 18 percent last month to 6.15 million tonnes and were on track to be a record at around 80 million tonnes for the whole of 2011.
Imports of LNG for the first 10 months were up 11 percent compared with 2010 and totalled 64.27 million tonnes.
The average import unit price for October was $856.44 per tonne of LNG.
LNG usage in the country is now entering its peak winter season and November and December imports are likely to surpass the October figure to go close to the 80 million tonnes mark, analysts said.
The customs figures also showed that the country's utilities paid a total of $5.26 billion for their LNG purchases last month.
Imports of all other fuels declined, apart from oil imports which rose just over 1 percent.
The average price of spot and short-term cargoes purchased by Japanese utilities in October was put at around $16.5 per million British thermal units.
