LNG imports by Japan, the world's second-biggest buyer of the fuel behind China, have fallen 17.4% in July, customs data shows, thanks to nuclear power restarts and growing use of renewable energy.

Kansai expects its fuel procurement cost to fall by 12 billion yen ($81 million) a month thanks to the Takahama No.1 and No.2 restarts, President Nozomu Mori told reporters.

Analysts say each gigawatt of nuclear power is equivalent to a million metric tons of LNG a year, so the restarts could trim annual imports by a tenth this year - the sharpest drop since the Fukushima disaster - and help to reduce Asian LNG prices.

Given Japan's nuclear and renewable energy cannot yet fully replace gas, utilities' inventories of LNG by Sept. 10 remained at their lowest in nearly 1-1/2 years for a second successive week, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said.

Takeo Kikkawa, president of International University of Japan, believes that a maximum of about 20 reactors, or 15% of the energy mix, would come online by 2030, falling short of the government's target of 20-22% owing to lengthy approvals and difficulties gaining consent from local communities.

"Japan will need to keep buying more fossil fuels than it has targeted in 2030," Kikkawa, who specialises in the energy industry, told Reuters.

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