The Prime Minister of Japan ended his official visit to Canada on Thursday by admitting that he had not reached the hoped-for agreement to receive more Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“We have not made any official commitments,” he told the media bluntly. Fumio Kishida, through an interpreter, Thursday.
“But in any case, it is important to promote trade between the two countries,” diplomatically added the Japanese leader alongside his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau. The two have announced the sending of trade missions to the other country in 2023, when Japan will host the next G7 summit in Hiroshima in May.
Japan is keen to secure a stable supply of natural gas as it attempts to shed its Russian imports, as have many other countries since the invasion of Ukraine. The Asian economic powerhouse is eyeing Canadian gas, from which it hopes to further increase imports planned for the next few years.
One terminal for now
In response to questions from the media, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “very excited” about the LNG Canada project, a major liquefied natural gas terminal under construction in Kitimat, British Columbia. The project is led by Shell, with the participation of the Japanese company Mitsubishi, among others, and should be operational in 2025. Nothing has yet been decided about its possible expansion – and therefore the sending of more gas on the side of Asia.
“We talked about how Canada can be a reliable supplier for energy resources in particular, but also for essential minerals as well as for agricultural products,” said Justin Trudeau. He added that all countries in the world are considering a transition away from fossil fuels, and that Japanese companies are also interested in promises of Canadian battery production.
The Japanese delegation left Canada late Thursday afternoon for Washington. She had previously passed through Paris, Rome and London, in particular to conclude military collaboration agreements. Japan is significantly increasing its defense budget to deal with threats to “international order” such as China, Russia or North Korea, a decision explicitly approved by Canada.
Missed opportunity
“The Japanese are probably disappointed [de ne pas sortir avec une entente sur le GNL]. It is capital for the Japanese economy,” analyzes Stephen R. Nagy, professor of political science and international studies at the International Christian University of Tokyo.
The one who is also a fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa believes that this is a missed opportunity for Canada, while Japan is looking for a trusted partner to conclude energy agreements.
However, in the opinion of Sachiyo Kanzaki, professor at UQAM and member of its East Asia Observatory, Japan does not absolutely rely on Canada for its gas supply. The country is aware that other states are urgently trying to get rid of Russian gas. “Geopolitically, Japan feels a bit like Ukraine,” she says. He is at the other end of the Eastern Bloc. Now it becomes the front of the Western world, as a neighbor of the giant that is China. »
“The security environment is no longer what it used to be,” Prime Minister Kishida said at a press conference on Thursday. His country had already published its Indo-Pacific strategy at the time of the unveiling of Canada’s in November, with the same objective of counterbalancing China in the Pacific region. For the future, Japan and Canada have promised to “coordinate their actions” in the Chinese file.