TOKYO, January 03, 9:08 /ITAR-TASS/. The Gazprom Company is ready to participate in developing Japan's internal energy system, Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Russian state corporation, said in an interview publishrd in this year's first edition of the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun.

"We can on a bilateral basis discuss matters connected with Japan's electric power industry," A. Medvedev pointed out. "Besides, it is possible that we shall cooperate (with the Japanese side) in designing and building gas pipelines to connect various parts of Japan's territory".

In the estimate of the Hokkaido Shimbun, the remarks made by the Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Board are indicative of the Russian company's intentions to "consolidate its influence on the energy market of Japan so as to assure a stable demand for its output".

Japan is fully devoid of energy resources and imports them. Tokyo, in particular, is the world's major buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2012, the import of LNG amounted to 55.8 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, following the breakdown at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power station in 2011, all commercial nuclear reactors in Japan were shut down, owing to which the country's spending on the purchase of fuel for thermal power plants, includind LNG, rose sharply. In view of that, it is precisely Russia-supplied LNG, which accounts for about 9 percent of Japan's annual import of gas, acquires increasing importance to Tokyo.