Reuters on Friday reported that during a recent meeting, US President Donald Trump urged Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to support a long-discussed plan to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Alaska to Asia. Trump, accompanied by US Energy Secretary Doug Burgum, pitched the $44 billion project as a way for Japan to reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern energy and address its trade imbalance with the US, according to two officials familiar with the closed-door talks.

Although Ishiba expressed tentative support to maintain positive US-Japan relations and avoid trade tariffs, Tokyo remains skeptical about the project's feasibility. Following the meeting, Trump mentioned the project publicly, but Ishiba did not, and Japan's official statement omitted any reference to LNG discussions.

This move is part of a broader US strategy to reshape economic ties with East Asia by encouraging allies like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to increase their purchases of US LNG. This approach aims to reduce their energy dependence on Russia and the Middle East while boosting the US economy. Kenneth Weinstein, Japan chair at the Hudson Institute, commented, "If the Trump administration were to have its way, US LNG would flow in massive quantities to Japan and South Korea...so that Southeast Asia would become economically dependent on the United States."

Japan's involvement is crucial to this strategy due to its status as the world's second-largest LNG importer. By investing in US energy projects, Japan could also act as a hub for redistributing LNG to other Asian markets. Currently, Japan sources about 10% of its LNG from the US, with most of its supply coming from Australia.

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The Alaska LNG project proposes an 800-mile pipeline connecting gas fields on Alaska's North Slope to an export terminal on the Pacific coast. Despite high costs and logistical challenges, the US argued that Alaska's proximity to Japan would enhance energy security by bypassing critical maritime chokepoints like the Straits of Hormuz and the South China Sea.

Beyond Japan, other East Asian nations, including South Korea, Taiwan, and India, are considering increasing US LNG imports to enhance energy security and strengthen trade relations with the US This strategic push aims to counter China and Russia's influence in the region and solidify economic ties with US allies in Asia.