Japan tops up LNG reserves

Japan's government has asked power companies to top up their liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserves and share energy resources, a person familiar with the contingency plan said, as civilian deaths in Ukraine push Tokyo to halt Russian fuel imports.

Utilities are scrambling for already stretched energy sources as resource-poor Japan joins the West in punishing Russia, a major oil and gas producer - a search made harder on Friday when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a ban on Russian coal and other sanctions.

Kishida is seeking to balance energy security for the country against growing pressure on the Group of Seven industrial powers for harsher sanctions against Russia as allegations of atrocities in Ukraine spread.