Activist Japan

摘要

Japan accounts for almost a third of global LNG trade. The vast majority of its supply contracts are indexed to oil. Already faced with some of the highest energy costs in the world, the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 brought home Japan's huge exposure to oil prices. As the country's nuclear generation was shut down to comply with new regulatory and safety regimes, Tokyo saw LNG imports soar to record levels. Japan's new enthusiasm for renewables and the renewed impetus behind its methane hydrates program are both the children of Fukushima. However, there has also been a seachange in Japan's attitude to the pricing of gas. Oil indexation is now a matter of public and corporate debate. A first EU-Japanese meeting on gas and LNG pricing scheduled for June 7 in Brussels follows on from import deals struck between Japanese utilities and would-be US LNG exporters, designed to reduce if not break Japan's dependence on oil-indexed gas contracts.