The Japanese government is making arrangements for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to ask U.S. President Barack Obama at their talks Friday to approve U.S. shale gas exports to Japan, government sources said Wednesday. A similar Japanese request came at last April's Japan-U.S. summit. U.S. government approval is required for U.S. shale gas exports to Japan and other countries that have no free trade agreement with the United States.
The Japanese government plans to use cheap shale gas imports to reduce non-nuclear thermal power generation costs that have been expanding due to a prolonged shutdown of nuclear power plants amid safety concerns following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.
