Trade minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday called on the president of Russia-owned Gazprom to provide Japan with liquefied natural gas from its plant to be built near Vladivostok at a “reasonable price” and in a “timely manner” after it starts up.

In a meeting at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Alexey Miller, who heads the world's largest gas firm, said construction of the LNG plant, slated to start operations in 2018, is proceeding as planned, according to a METI official who attended the meeting.

"Japan is a prospect market for the Vladivostok LNG project," Miller was quoted as saying by the official.