Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to push for the accelerated revival of nuclear power to tackle inflation, a source of public discontent, with reactor restarts key to reducing costly fuel imports.
Takaichi has appointed Ryosei Akazawa, who was Japan's point person in its recent tariff deal with the United States, as trade and industry minister — a portfolio that includes energy — signaling a willingness to engage with Washington, including on liquefied natural gas purchases, analysts said.
Her government plans to present a package of purchases to U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit to Tokyo next week, including LNG, although not from the Alaskan pipeline project championed by Trump, at least for now.
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