Japan 2017 thermal coal imports hit record

Bloomberg

Japan’s thermal coal imports rose to a record last year and liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases climbed for the first time in three years, as the fuels filled the gap in power generation left by the country’s slow restart of its nuclear power plants.
The figures underscore the country’s continued reliance on imported fossil fuels for power generation, as it slowly embra-
ces renewable energy, while the majority of the country’s nuclear reactors remain shut following the Fuku-shima disaster nearly seven years ago.
Thermal coal imports rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier to 114.5 million tonnes in 2017, surpassing the 113.8 million tonnes imported in 2015, preliminary Ministry of
Finance data showed on Wednesday.