Korea and Japan Strengthen Supply-Chain Pact and LNG Cooperation Amid Global Instability
Published: 27 Mar 2026
Author: Precedence Research
Korea, Japan Introduces Supply-Chain Pact and Boost LNG Cooperation Amid War
South Korea and Japan launched a new supply-chain pact and strengthened LNG cooperation to navigate global instability caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Their respective industry ministries established a permanent communication channel to coordinate responses to supply-chain crises.
Critical Minerals & Resources
The agreement boosts joint exploration, investment, and technology development in critical minerals to reduce dependence on single-source suppliers. Both sides agreed to refrain from unilateral export restrictions, aiming to avoid a repeat of past trade disputes like the 2019 semiconductor materials restrictions. A new "Korea-Japan Industry and Trade Policy Dialogue" will serve as a permanent channel to monitor issues in steel, minerals, and economic security. The two sides also agreed to refrain from the causes that negatively affect each other's supply chains and will invest in and explore critical minerals and cooperate on technology.
According to Towards Chem&Materials, the Asia Pacific liquefied natural gas market size accounted for USD 145.19 billion in 2025 and is predicted to increase from USD 155.14 billion in 2026 to approximately USD 281.63 billion by 2035, expanding at a CAGR of 6.85% from 2026 to 2035 as demand for sustainable and cleaner energy to reduce emissions is rapidly increasing across the region.
The two companies, having established a memorandum of understanding for LNG sector cooperation in 2023, finalized an LNG volume exchange project in June of last year.
Rising Clean Energy Demand Accelerates the Asia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas Market
- A transition from coal to gas, especially in China and India, to minimize carbon emissions and pollution, is propelling demand for LNG as a "bridge fuel".
- Ongoing growth of import terminals, regasification facilities, and pipelines, mainly in developing countries to improve energy security, is positively impacting market expansion.
- Developed technology for liquefaction and transportation makes the fuel more competitive with conventional sources.
- Major companies are diversifying energy portfolios with LNG to tackle risk related to single-source pipeline dependencies.