Tokyo | Japanese energy companies are on-selling surplus Australian gas to allies in South-East Asia to shore up its influence in the region against China while securing its economic future as an energy trader.

Japanese power giants JERA, Mitsubishi and Tokyo Gas have stepped up gas purchases since 2021 to on-sell 38 million tonnes of gas -- including Australian LNG -- each year to countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and India, where they have invested heavily in distribution infrastructure. This equates to about half of Australian exports to the world.