A bipartisan group of senators is calling on U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel to help strengthen the trade of liquefied natural gas between the two countries and among the broader Group of Seven as its lone Asian member overtakes leadership of the political coalition.

LNG is an increasingly hot commodity due to the reorientation of international gas markets caused by the war in Ukraine. The Biden administration has promised to facilitate more LNG exports to Europe through the end of the decade, but Japan, which imports the majority of its energy and is the no. 2 importer of U.S. LNG over the last seven years, could also benefit from increased U.S. LNG exports, the senators said.

"As the President of the G7 this year, Japan has identified energy security as a key policy priority," the senators said in a letter to Emanuel shared exclusively with the Washington Examiner. "We strongly urge you to further this initiative with Japan given their leadership in this space, and offer recommendations to advance energy security for the U.S., Japan, other G7 members, and their allies."

The group, led by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), pushed Emanuel to encourage more investment in natural gas infrastructure among G-7 nations. The G-7 includes the U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada.

"There remains a gap between the political commitment to backfill the supply of Russian gas taken off the market and the necessary policies to fill that gap," the letter said. "Excessive restrictions on public financing of gas projects and unnecessary delays in approving privately-financed projects impede the development of critical infrastructure to expand output and exports."

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Barrasso (R-WY), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) are other signatories.

"When it comes to energy security in Japan, it's been a very mixed message," Sullivan told the Washington Examiner, citing meetings with Japanese officials, who expressed frustration that the administration's support for supporting Japanese energy security was wavering.

Those officials said climate envoy John Kerry was privately discouraging investment in long-term U.S. LNG ventures, Sullivan said.

"Maybe that's not true," he said, but "to have one guy being able to dictate the terms of global energy security, in my view, makes no sense strategically."

The Biden administration launched a task force to facilitate increased LNG shipments to Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia was the largest external supplier of natural gas to Europe before the war started and remained no. 1 through the third quarter of 2022, although supplies fell dramatically over the course of the year, in large part because Russia has cut exports to the EU.

Imports from the U.S. increased throughout the year as the European Union acted on its commitment to cut reliance on Russian gas and replace it with imports from friendlier nations.

Administration officials have embraced the LNG export initiative as a means to help allies while also pursuing tighter regulations and financial penalties to reduce emissions.

Many environmental groups pushing for a quicker phasing out of fossil fuels have criticized the administration's export campaign as "locking in" new fossil fuel infrastructure for decades to come.

Some in the administration, especially Kerry , have acknowledged that gas is part of the "transition" to a greener energy sector while warning against new the construction of new gas infrastructure without carbon capture technologies.

Kerry, along with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and EPA Administrator Michael Regan, was copied on the letter to Emanuel.

For Emanuel, the United States is “all in” with Japan on investing in each other to "help each other strengthen our energy supply lines," he told an audience of the Western States and Tribal Nations Summit in December.

Emanuel talked up the administration's agreement to work with Japan to reduce disruptions in LNG markets.

"President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and weaponization of energy clearly demonstrate the dangers of depending on despots for your energy security and needs. Industrialized economies cannot be that vulnerable in the future," Emanuel said.