Japan to invest $36bn in first wave of US energy and minerals projects

(Sharecast News) - Japan has outlined plans to invest roughly $36bn in US oil, gas and critical mineral projects as part of the first phase of a trade agreement with the United States, Donald Trump said on Tuesday. Trump and Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi announced three initial projects, including a major natural‑gas‑fired power plant in Portsmouth, Ohio, which the US administration described as the largest of its kind in the country. The White House also said Japan will back a deep‑water crude export facility off Texas and a synthetic industrial diamond manufacturing site.

Takaichi said the investments would help strengthen economic ties with the US at a time when tensions with China over Taiwan continue to weigh on Japan's economy. She added that the projects were also expected to bolster economic security for both nations.

Japan's investments form part of the $550bn it committed as part of last year's trade deal, under which the US agreed to reduce tariffs on a range of Japanese exports, including cars. Trump said the scale of the projects reflected the impact of tariffs, a policy stance that has drawn criticism from economists concerned about inflationary effects.

Most of the first‑phase funding will go towards the Ohio power plant, which was expected to generate 9.2 gigawatts of electricity annually and will be operated by SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary. The industrial diamond facility in Georgia, valued at about $600m, was intended to support domestic production of synthetic diamond grit used in advanced manufacturing and semiconductor applications.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com