Residents from US Gulf coast communities in Texas who say Japanese-backed fossil fuel projects tied to tariff negotiations with US President Donald Trump threaten their health and safety have taken their fight to Tokyo.
Members of community groups from Texas’ Freeport area met officials from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), government-run Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi), as well as the ministries of finance and economy, trade and industry on Monday.
They urged the institutions to halt support for a planned crude oil export facility in Freeport and an expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure, saying the projects would increase pollution, raise safety risks and lock in fossil fuel dependence.
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Officials from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Bank declined to meet the group. The three are the largest financiers of LNG projects in the US, while JBIC and Nexi are negotiating loans, equity and guarantees that lower risk for Japanese banks and trading houses.
The response from officials did little to reassure the visitors, said Hiroki Osada, a Friends of the Earth Japan campaigner who attended the meetings.
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