Who does Japan buy their gas from?

Written by Editorial Team | Last Updated: August 2026

Because Japan possesses extremely limited domestic natural resources, it relies heavily on massive international imports to fulfill its energy demands and stands as one of the world's largest importers of liquefied natural gas. Japan sources its natural gas supply from a diverse roster of global partner countries spread across Oceania, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Historically and currently, Australia serves as Japan's premier and largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, providing a massive share of total imports. Additional significant volumes are purchased from countries such as Malaysia, the Russian Federation, the United States, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Indonesia, Brunei, and Oman. This multi-source purchasing strategy ensures energy security and stabilizes national supply against localized geopolitical disruptions.

Related FAQs

Residential and commercial gas supplied across properties in Japan is categorized into two distinct types: city gas and propane gas, also known as liquefied petroleum gas.

Control over the world's largest oil reserves is heavily concentrated among national state-run petroleum enterprises rather than private Western corporations.

Tokyo Gas Natural Resources is a wholly-owned subsidiary and specialized upstream investment vehicle belonging to the broader Tokyo Gas corporate group. The parent company, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

Tokyo Gas is the primary provider of city gas—specifically natural gas distributed via extensive underground pipeline networks—to residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.

Because Japan lacks significant domestic hydrocarbon reserves, it fulfills nearly all of its natural gas requirements through maritime imports of liquefied natural gas sourced from a diversified network of international supplier nations.

Tokyo Gas offers comprehensive retail electricity services alongside its traditional utility gas operations, entering the power market aggressively following the full deregulation of Japan's retail electricity sector.

Tokyo Gas was officially founded on October 1, 1885, by prominent Japanese industrialist and entrepreneur Eiichi Shibusawa alongside fellow pioneer Asano Sōichirō.

Utility customers utilizing services from Tokyo Gas are assigned a unique, alphanumeric customer code or contract number that typically consists of a specific sequence of digits displayed prominently on monthly billing statements, paper notices, and ...

Japan possesses negligible domestic natural gas reserves, extracting only a tiny fraction of its total national consumption from small onshore and offshore fields near its archipelago.

Tokyo Gas is a fully public corporation whose common shares are actively traded on major financial markets, most notably the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker symbol 9531.

Monthly utility bills in Japan vary significantly depending on household size, geographic region, housing insulation quality, and personal energy consumption habits.

Tokyo Gas and its consolidated group subsidiaries maintain a robust workforce comprising approximately 15,500 to 16,000 full-time employees.

America's domestic natural gas supply is produced and distributed by a wide range of massive multinational corporations and independent exploration firms rather than a single provider, though industry giants like ExxonMobil lead in production scale.

Tokyo Gas is actively transitioning its corporate strategy to incorporate sustainable energy practices and align with broader national decarbonization goals, though its historical foundation remains rooted in fossil fuels.

Japan's single largest buyer of liquefied natural gas and primary power generation enterprise is JERA Co., a massive joint venture established by Tokyo Electric Power Company and Chubu Electric Power.

Tokyo Gas is a comprehensive energy and utility enterprise primarily engaged in the production, wholesale, distribution, and retail supply of city gas and electricity to millions of customers in Japan.

Tokyo Gas actively operates as a major retail electricity supplier in Japan, providing competitive power plans to residential and business customers following the liberalization of the country's energy markets.

The cost of utility gas in Tokyo is calculated using a tiered pricing structure that combines a fixed monthly basic charge—typically starting around 759 Japanese Yen for low-volume brackets—with a variable unit charge per cubic meter consumed, which ...

Japan's single largest product category exported to the United States consists of automotive vehicles and related transportation machinery outside of railway or tramway rolling stock.

Electricity is not free in Japan; consumers must pay for all electrical power consumed based on meter readings provided by regional utility companies.

The top three largest natural gas-producing countries in the world, based on global energy reporting and statistical review data, are the United States, Russia, and Iran.

Applying for utility gas service when moving into a new residence in Japan is a straightforward process that can typically be initiated online or over the phone through the regional provider, such as Tokyo Gas, at least one to two weeks before the mo...

Setting up gas utilities when moving into a new home or apartment in Japan requires contacting the designated local provider assigned to the property, which can be identified through real estate agents or information stickers placed near gas meters.