Japan may see LNG demand up if renewables are slow; Canada there to deliver, officials say- Japan's demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) may grow by more than 10% to some 74 million metric tons by 2040 under a government scenario where the renewable energy rollout goes slower than expected, a senior industry ministry official said. Japan's domestic LNG demand continued to fall last year, dropping by 0.4% to 66 million tons due to a weaker economy, a growing share of renewable energy, and nuclear power plant restarts. "If we do not have a huge expansion of renewable energy, or if we cannot reduce the cost of hydrogen, ammonia, CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage), our gas demand will increase," he said. Australia, Malaysia and the United States are the biggest LNG suppliers to Japan, but Canada is preparing to start exports to Japan later this year from the LNG Canada project where Mitsubishi 8058.T is a shareholder. With U.S. President Donald Trump still threatening steep tariffs on Canada, including on energy imports, Canada is turning its attention to other potential markets, including Japan, the world's second biggest LNG buyer after China.