Oil-hungry Japan looks to other sources

After decades of struggling to reduce its excessively heavy reliance on the Middle East for its crude oil, Japan imported 2% less of the commodity from the region in 2006. Does this herald a lasting change in the nation’s oil-import structure or represent just a statistical quirk?

Japan’s 2006 overall oil-import figures show signs of possible structural changes in the nation’s oil sources in the medium and long terms.
There are many other ways to boost Japan’s energy security other than just lowering its dependence on Middle East oil.

The New National Energy Strategy also calls for stepped-up energy-saving efforts and the development of energy-saving technologies to cut the ratio of energy consumption to gross domestic product, or GDP, by 30% by 2030 to ensure the nation will have a stable energy supply amid intensifying competition for energy resources.

This goal is far from a cakewalk, however. Japan’s ratio of primary energy consumption to GDP is already the world’s lowest after improving 30% over the past three decades because of conservation measures spurred by the oil crises of the 1970s.

The New National Energy Strategy calls for a reduction in the oil-dependency rate to 40% or less by 2030 from the current 50% and promotion of nuclear energy, including a nuclear fuel cycle, as well as securing of energy resources abroad.

Asia Times