Tokyo | Peter Dutton’s gas reservation policy could discourage investment in Australia while undermining Japan’s lucrative energy trading business across South-East Asia, a Tokyo-based think tank has warned.

Tatsuya Terazawa, chief executive of the Institute of Energy Economics Japan, said the Coalition’s plan, which would limit the amount of gas destined for the regional spot market, could “handicap” Australian producers and ultimately trim Japanese sales into the politically sensitive network.