Officials from Japan's trade ministry, refineries and trading companies will begin a visit to Canada tomorrow, Trade Minister Toshihiro Nikai told reporters in Tokyo today. Japan, the world's third-biggest oil user, wants to reduce its dependence on a single region for its energy supplies after growing demand from China and India pushed oil prices to record last year. Importing oil sands ``can contribute to raising Japan's energy security,'' Nikai said. ``Japan hasn't imported the fuel, but we will strongly promote it.'' Canada's oil sands hold the second-biggest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. It can produce a heavy oil called bitumen, which can be processed into refinery-ready crude and made into gasoline, diesel and other fuels. In May, China Petrochemical Corp. took stakes in a Canadian oil sands project by investing C$105 million. Cnooc Ltd., China's third-largest oil producer, also holds stakes in a Calgary-based company, which has interests in oil-sand properties. Japan imported 20.1 million kiloliters (126.4 million barrels) of oil in November, according to the latest statistics from the trade ministry. Of the amount, the nation bought 92 percent, or 18.4 million kiloliters, from the Middle East, and imported 3.3 percent from Southeast Asian countries. Officials from Nippon Oil Corp., the nation's biggest oil refiner, and Cosmo Oil Co. will be in the delegation visiting Canada, the companies said. PIN/BLOOMBERG