Japan's export credit agency is proposing an increase in its budget as it seeks to secure the fossil fuels vital to the country's economy amid a nuclear shutdown.

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Since the triple meltdown, all but two of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors that once provided up to 30 per cent of its electricity have been shut down, and the economy contracted by 0.7 per cent in the last three months of last year.

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The country is relying increasingly on fossil-fuel imports from the UAE as well as the natural-gas powerhouses of Indonesia, Qatar, Australia and Malaysia.

Japan increased oil imports from the UAE to 301 million barrels last year from 278 million barrels in 2010. With prices for the European benchmark Brent crude topping US$127 a barrel last year, the value of Japan's crude imports from the UAE rose 48.8 per cent, according to the Japan External Trade Organisation.

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/energy/vital-energy-mission-for-japan-agency