Japan's largest power generation corporation JERA has signed contracts to purchase 5.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year from the United States. The agreements will come into effect in 2029 and are expected to last 20 years.
In practice, JERA will import up to 10 million tons of LNG per year from the United States, the company said in a press release to the media. In the corporation's overall purchase balance, the share of liquefied natural gas from the United States will increase from 10% to 30%.
"This decision was not made under political pressure or at the request of Washington and Tokyo", said JERA Managing Director Ryosuke Tsugaru.
In February, at a meeting with US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his readiness to increase purchases of LNG from the United States as a measure to correct the imbalance in bilateral trade. Now Washington is threatening to sharply increase tariffs on Japanese goods if Tokyo does not expand its imports of American products.
In 2023, Japan received 41.6% of all liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Australia, 15.6% from Malaysia and about 9% from Russia. At that time, the United States accounted for 8.4%, but now this share could double.