Japan Mulls Support for Alaska LNG Project Over Trump Tariff Threat

Japan could offer a significant boost to the nascent $44bn Alaska LNG project. Against the backdrop of looming Trump tariffs and the administration’s express goal to boost the state’s hydrocarbon production, Japan could emerge as a backer of the massive Alaska LNG project.

Looking for ways to reduce Japan’s nearly $60bn trade imbalance, the country has signaled willingness to increase its U.S. energy imports. The EU, including Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, is following a similar approach hoping that the willingness to purchase greater amounts of American LNG can starve off tariff action. 

Currently Japan imports around 10 percent of its LNG needs from Russia, an increasingly unreliable and geopolitically fraught supply. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba…