Japan has made progress in its attempts to curtail soaring fuel costs since the 2011 Fukushima disaster and Washington on Friday gave it the green light to import cheap liquefied natural gas.

Since Japan is poor in natural resources, it has been longing to import U.S.-produced LNG emerging from the shale gas boom.

This is not only because the price of U.S. natural gas is around a quarter of what it is now paying for LNG imports, but also because it increases the nation's bargaining power against other suppliers.