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Outlook 2026: Freedom gas, captive buyer
Japan once wrote the book on LNG supply diversification, but it is now looking increasingly reliant on a single major provider
EU faces tough task following Japan LNG model
The bloc may find it very difficult to replicate Japan’s approach due to fundamental differences in policy and markets
Letter from Japan: Power market risks highlight LNG rework
Flexibility and sharing of risk in gas buying and selling is becoming more essential
Japan LNG to gain traction from political inertia
The crumbling of the country’s postwar political consensus may bolster the country’s LNG demand outlook by stymieing planned nuclear restarts
Asian demand critical to absorb fresh LNG supply
Purchasing from region will help determine if prices will stay buoyant in the second half of this decade as supply increases, with significant volumes due online in the next three years
Weather and pricing key to Asia’s winter LNG demand
Nuclear availability in Japan and South Korea will also be an important factor in determining overall LNG requirements
Security trumps all in Japan’s LNG strategy
Tokyo and Japan’s utilities continue to back LNG projects, even as the country’s demand declines
Japan’s appetite for LNG is poised to shrink in 2024
Planned reactor restarts and expiring supply contracts mean changes ahead for Japan’s well-established LNG sector
Muted winter LNG outlook for NE Asia
Seasonal temperatures will prove critical, but the LNG demand prospects for China, Japan and South Korea are currently soft
Canberra stokes Tokyo’s LNG concerns
Talks between the trading partners reveal growing tension over the potential impact on LNG flows of domestic Australian policies
Japan Saudi Aramco ADNOC Inpex Petronas
Selwyn Parker
4 May 2018
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Japan's energy shake-up

The country's energy industry has been thrown into a state of turmoil by 'Abenomics'

Japan's energy sector faces declining long-term consumption and a reversal of historic government policy that has been preoccupied with security of supply for the best part of half a century. Yet although demand for oil is steadily shrinking, Japan remains an important premium country for oil producers. With limited crude resources of its own—despite decades of exploration, mostly outside the country—Japan imports around 4m barrels a day. "Accordingly, oil producers that can reliably supply the correct class of API and sulphur content crude compatible with Japanese refinery configurations, can rely on captive customers," notes the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies in a paper published in Fe

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