US citizens call on Japanese gov’t-funded bank to stop investing in problematic LNG project in Texas

2026 June 3 - 9 TOP3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

US citizens call on Japanese gov’t-funded bank to stop investing in problematic LNG project in Texas

June 7, 2026

A group of U.S. citizens living near an LNG plant in Texas, in which a Japanese government-funded bank and Japan’s large corporations are investing, came to Japan in May to demand a halt to the investment as accidents and air pollution caused by the plant continue to endanger residents’ lives.

Accompanied by Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councillors Iwabuchi Tomo, the residents’ group petitioned the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), a 100% state-owned special stock company, to stop providing loans to the LNG business which is rife with problems.

In the petitioning, Iwabuchi pointed out that the Japanese government-invested LNG business not only runs counter to the ideal of breaking away from fossil fuels, but has also caused local residents to travel to Japan to complain about the serious environmental pollution and accidents tied to the LNG business operations.

Operations at the plant in question, which is located adjacent to Freeport City, Texas, began in 2019. It produces LNG and sells it to Japan’s largest energy company, JERA Co., Inc., which is jointly owned by Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., Tokyo Electric Power Company, and Chubu Electric Power Company. At the plant, since the beginning of operations, minor accidents have occurred almost every month. In addition, environmental violations have continued to take place. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has reported that emissions of air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ethylene, occurred at least 200 times.

JBIC and some major Japanese banks, including MUFG Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui, make loans to this business, and NEXI underwrites a risk.

JBIC and NEXI have their own guidelines for environmental and social considerations. In response to the petition from local U.S. residents, JBIC claimed that it is urging the plant to put environmental and social considerations into practice while NEXI stated that it is dealing with the issue in line with its guidelines.