SYDNEY, Friday 1 May 2026 — Ahead of the Prime Minister of Japan's visit to Australia next week, Greenpeace Japan and Greenpeace Australia Pacific have criticised the two countries for taking advantage of the global fossil fuel crisis to entrench gas dependence, instead of supporting the transition to homegrown renewables.
Prime Minister Takaichi is visiting Australia from Sunday 3 May to Tuesday 5 May, to promote stronger military cooperation and to shore up Australia's gas exports. The Japanese Government has made extraordinary interventions in Australia's political debate, claiming gas is required for energy security, yet Japanese corporations make billions re-selling Australian gas to third countries, and the Japanese Government collects more tax from Australian gas than the Australian Government.
Ikumi Toyota, Climate Change and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Japan said: "Prime Minister Takaichi's visit is a calculated move to exploit the fossil fuel crisis exposed by the war on Iran to entrench a gas trade that delivers billions to Japan, and even more to big gas corporations like Inpex, Woodside and Santos.
"As a primary bankroller of destructive projects like Barossa and Scarborough, Japan is using Australia's exports to drive gas expansion across Asia for its own profit — actively blocking our neighbours from transitioning to the secure, cheap and clean renewable energy they critically need.
"If this crisis has shown anything, it is that true energy security only comes from a rapid transition to renewables, yet Takaichi and Albanese seem hell-bent on sabotaging that future.
"By keeping Asia shackled to gas these leaders are not only threatening our regional energy security, they are ensuring we will continue to watch our power bills rise, while fuelling the extreme heat, floods and rising seas that are already devastating our region."
Joe Rafalowicz, Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: "Prime Minister Takaichi's visit comes at a time when Australians are waking up to how much of a sham our gas trade is. Not only because of the tax rorts, but also because it is forcing the whole region to rely on unaffordable, unreliable gas when we should be moving to cheap, clean, homegrown renewable energy.
"Just as the calls to properly tax the big gas corporations in Australia have reached a peak, Prime Minister Takaichi has arrived to cynically demand the gas keeps flowing, so that they can keep pushing it on their neighbours to make a quick dollar.
"The Japanese Government is a part owner of INPEX, a company which has exported billions of dollars of Australian gas to Japan without paying a single cent of tax under the PPRT, and has paid just $500 million in corporate tax on $36 billion in revenue. Australians, and the countries in the region buying gas at a mark-up from Japan, are entitled to ask: who is benefiting from this fossil-fuel system?
"We can and should foster a cooperative relationship with Japan that is focused on thriving in a secure, cheap and clean renewable energy future, not digging our heels into the mud on fossil fuels like Trump."
