Abe to Ask Obama for U.S. Shale Exports

Bloomberg reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to ask Obama to permit shale gas exports as the country struggles with a spike in energy costs in the wake of 2011′s nuclear reactor disaster.

As quoted in the press release:

The request will be made at a Feb. 22 meeting between Abe and Obama in Washington, said three Japanese officials, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public. The bill for importing liquefied natural gas, combined with a weaker yen, prompted Japan to post a record trade deficit in January of 1.63 trillion yen ($17.4 billion), the Finance Ministry said today.

To view the whole Bloomberg report, click here.