If there is no emergency, SBL cargoes may be used domestically or resold on the market, said the report. Credit: GreenOak/Shutterstock.com.
Japan is set to start purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its emergency reserves every month from January 2026, reported Reuters, citing two sources at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
This move represents a shift from Japan’s previous practice of only procuring LNG during periods of high demand.
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The revised approach, under the Strategic Buffer LNG (SBL) programme, allows Japan to secure at least one LNG cargo, around 70,000 tonnes (t), each month.
This translates to a minimum of 12 cargoes, or 840,000t, for emergency reserves annually, compared to around 210,000t in the past two years.
If there is no emergency, SBL cargoes may be used domestically or resold on the market, said the report.
JERA, Japan’s largest LNG importer and a certified SBL supplier, holds these cargoes until 18 days before their scheduled port arrival.
Any financial loss from reselling is covered by the government, while profits from sales must be returned to the state.
Japan’s expanded monthly purchasing plan aligns with its growing role in international LNG trading, as domestic demand has declined.
The country has increasingly sold surplus LNG abroad during periods of reduced local consumption, according to the report.
Since December 2023, JERA has acquired one cargo for each of the three winter months to contribute to the reserve, although it has not activated the emergency supply.
From 2026, JERA will acquire at least one SBL cargo for every month of the year and also secure an additional cargo for December this year.
An METI source was quoted by the news agency as saying: “Shifting to a monthly basis is not directly related to Russian energy issues, but it enables us to respond to any emergency situation.”
Last year, the METI indicated that it was considering increasing LNG purchases from the mid-to-late 2020s.
Japanese power utilities have requested an expansion of the strategic buffer, which allows JERA to supply LNG to any utility facing a sudden shortfall.
This provides a safeguard against disruptions such as conflict or nuclear outages.
Last month, the US urged Japan to halt LNG imports from Russia as part of broader efforts to pressure Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
Japan’s long-term contracts with Russia’s Sakhalin-2 project account for around 9% of its LNG imports.
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