Japan 's industry minister will visit the U.S. next week and ask the Obama administration for permission to receive exports of natural gas.

Toshimitsu Motegi will stay in Washington on Thursday and Friday, and then fly to Pittsburgh to visit a nearby shale gas production site, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement.

During his stay in Washington , Mr. Motegi will talk about energy issues with his counterparts, the statement said. Details of the planned meetings and site tour were not disclosed.

Because Japan doesn't have a free trade agreement with the U.S. it needs to obtain approval from the Department of Energy to receive LNG exports.

Japan 's demand for liquefied natural gas has risen sharply in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident in March 2011, as utilities kept nuclear reactors offline.

In the last financial year ended in March, Japan imported 4.4% more LNG but paid 15% more, after marking a 18% volume rise and a 52% price growth in the previous year, government data show.

Eight of nine power utilities that have nuclear power plants have been running in the red because of the high fuel prices. The government has been trying to find new LNG sources with an eye on North America and Russia .

Before going to the U.S. , Mr. Motegi plans to visit Columbia and Brazil .
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