Japan in talks with US on fresh LNG imports

The Japanese government has been in talks with the US to reach an agreement on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG), Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Wednesday. "We are asking the US government to permit exports of LNG from the US mainland, which price is falling. This would enable us to secure inexpensive and stable supply of LNG," the top government spokesman told a press conference, noting that Tokyo will aggressively pursue negotiation on this issue. Fujimura also said that Seishu Makino, senior vice minister of economy, trade and industry, made the request during his talks with US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu in Washington last September. Japan, the world's biggest LNG importer, is also vulnerable to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for crude oil. Iran has claimed its nuclear aspirations are for peaceful purposes and threatened to shut off the key waterway if additional sanctions are imposed on Tehran. Japan's LNG imports have surged since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident last March due to rising thermal power demand on continued nuclear power outage. Only two of the nation's 54 commercial reactors are currently in service amid growing public concerns over the safety of atomic power technology in the aftermath of the accident.