Another fund-guzzling white elephant?

Resource-poor Japan is pumping no small amount of public funds into its energy drive to secure foreign oil, gas and other resources in a desperate bid to ensure its energy security amid spikes in oil prices.

Ensuring stability of supply is a matter of life or death for the world’s second-largest economy. The country imports virtually all of its oil, with nearly 90% of that coming from the volatile Middle East. Japan also buys almost all of its natural gas from abroad, making it the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Public financial support in the form of investment, loans, loan guarantees and investment insurance is designed to encourage conservatively-minded domestic firms to venture into high-risk projects abroad.
Criss cross