Storage sites in Shizuoka, Japan
IEA calls on Japan to clarify gas goals
Gas companies need greater certainty about the fuel’s long-term outlook
Japan should clarify the role of gas in its decarbonisation plans for this decade, the IEA recommends in its Japan 2021, Energy Policy Review. The international body also recommends that Japan should refit its planned supercritical coal-fired power plants to burn gas instead, and that Japanese authorities take further measures to liberalise the domestic market. The “long-term outlook for natural gas demand in Japan is unclear”, the IEA says. The country’s Long-term Energy Supply and Demand Outlook to 2030 projects gas demand as declining by 2030 back to the levels seen before the Fukushima disaster, which saw nuclear capacity shut in its wake. “[The] long-term outlook for natural gas d
Also in this section
23 January 2026
A strategic pivot away from Russian crude in recent weeks tees up the possibility of improved US-India trade relations
23 January 2026
The signing of a deal with a TotalEnergies-led consortium to explore for gas in a block adjoining Israel’s maritime area may breathe new life into the country’s gas ambitions
22 January 2026
As Saudi Arabia pushes mining as a new pillar of its economy, Saudi Aramco is positioning itself at the intersection of hydrocarbons, minerals and industrial policy
22 January 2026
New long-term deal is latest addition to country’s rapidly evolving supply portfolio as it eyes role as regional gas hub
