I have asked the same question in 2008/9 when I was studying in Japan. The publications in Resource Geology Volume 68, Issue 2 Special Issue: The Japanese Porphyry Copper Enigma Pages: i-iv, 103-207 April 2018; gave some answeres.
Now, does these lack of geological events of generating porphyry Cu-Au type of deposits significantly contributed to the minimal oil-gas deposits in Japan? How is the relationship of these deposits associated?
Oil & gas form in continental shelf environments from an abundance of sea life. Japan arose from the ocean floor by subducting oceanic plates. No real land environment with shallow water around it.
The lack of porphyry deposits is true for this island arc but also of other modern arcs like Aleutians/Indonesian/Caribbean. However, older arcs like the Philippines are rich in porphyry deposits. Maybe they will form in the future in Japan.
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