Japan Mulling Expanding U.S. LNG Imports for Tariff Talks
Tokyo, April 23 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government has begun full-scale discussions on expanding imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States, believing that the move will serve as a powerful bargaining chip in bilateral tariff negotiations.
In the Japan-U.S. negotiations on Tokyo's request for a review of the tariff policy of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the focus is on what concrete measures Japan will take to reduce its trade surplus as demanded by Washington.
In 2024, Japan imported 542.6 billion yen of LNG from the United States. By country, the United States, with a share of 8.7 pct, was the fourth-biggest LNG exporter to Japan after Australia, Malaysia and Russia.
While Japan's LNG imports from Russia totaled 548.1 billion yen last year, diversifying suppliers is a challenge for the Asian nation from the viewpoint of energy security as the risk of supply disruption has become evident due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
At a meeting between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in February, the two governments agreed to increase Japan's imports of U.S. LNG. Ishiba suggested on television Sunday that it could be possible to increase LNG imports from the United States.
The Japanese side is expected to work out details based on LNG prices and other conditions, informed sources said.
In private-sector contracts, it is "important that stable procurement is ensured for the long term," an official of a major energy company said.
In the bilateral negotiations, the Japanese side is expected to work on removing policy uncertainties related to the high U.S. tariffs.
Still, it will be difficult for Japan to significantly reduce its trade surplus with the United States, which totaled as much as 8,628.1 billion yen in 2024, solely by expanding LNG imports.
By presenting to the United States a package of measures including those to correct nontariff barriers, Tokyo plans to ask Washington to exempt Japan from its reciprocal tariffs and additional tariffs on automobiles and other items, people familiar with the matter said.
Meanwhile, Trump has sounded eager about the United States and Japan jointly undertaking an LNG development project in the U.S. state of Alaska. If realized, the project could reduce the number of days needed for LNG transportation and related costs compared with the current route via the Panama Canal.
However, the project would involve laying a 1,300-kilometer pipeline running from the north to the south of Alaska.
"I have no idea at all how much it would cost," Kingo Hayashi, head of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, said, citing a need to examine the project's details.
The Japanese side is expected to carefully assess whether and how the country should be involved in the project. "The feasibility of the project should be scrutinized," a senior official of a Japanese government agency said.
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