Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was expected to ask US President Barack Obama to approve shale gas exports to Japan when they hold talks this week, the Kyodo News agency reported Wednesday. Abe was to meet Obama Friday during his first visit to Washington since he took office in late December. US government approval is required for shale gas shipments to countries that have no free trade agreement with the United States, which includes Japan. Japanese companies have already embarked on some projects to liquefy US shale gas for export to Japan. Japan wants to buy cheap shale gas to reduce its mounting fuel costs for thermal power generation after the nation's worst nuclear accident in 2011 led to a shutdown of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors and a dependence on fossil fuels. The government said Wednesday that Japan's trade deficit was a record 1.63 trillion yen ($17.4 billion) in January, up 10 per cent from a year earlier, as imports surged because of growing fuel shipments for thermal power plants.
