The country has tentatively begun to reactivate its nuclear power industry almost half a decade after it was shutdown in the wake of a deadly tsunami.
Magnus Fyhr of GMP estimates the first reactor should be live by early September with a second running by the close of 2015.
Longer term, he projects 18 reactors, or 41% of Japanese capacity, will be working by 2020.
“Under this scenario, Japan would still need to import 80-85 MTPA, 5-10 MTPA below current levels, but still 10-15 MTPA greater than pre-Fukushima,” the analyst said in a report today.
“This could potentially result in reduced demand of 5-10 LNG carriers by 2010 assuming the supply is sourced from Australia.”
LNG carriers experienced a boom in rates as Japanese demand ramped up after the reactors were shut down.
Oversupply has since hit the market, with a number of speculative newbuildings helping to drive rates down.
Modern LNG carriers are presently commanding around $30,000 per day in the spot market, less than half what there were a year ago.
