The government has pledged an additional $10 billion (¥1.1 trillion) in public and private financing to liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects worldwide, in order to help spur demand for the cleaner fossil fuel, trade minister Isshu Sugawara said on Thursday.
The investments will be dedicated toward upstream, midstream and downstream LNG projects mainly in Asia, Sugawara said during a keynote speech at the annual LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo.
Japan, which has drawn criticism globally for sticking to coal-fired power generation as a major energy source, has been doubling up on efforts to promote the development of the global LNG market in hopes of helping to cut carbon emissions.