日本宣布在一项更广泛的$550 billion美日贸易与投资机制下，推出首批最高达$36 billion、投向美国石油、天然气与关键矿物相关专案的投资；该机制与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的关税协议挂钩。此项宣布日期为2026年2月18日，且在预计于华盛顿举行的特朗普与首相高市早苗（Sanae Takaichi）于3月19日会晤之前发布；此前该贸易框架在特朗普曾威胁对日产品课征25%后，将税率设定为15%。日本将此方案定位为透过涵盖关键矿物、能源与人工智慧的供应链来强化经济安全，而特朗普则公开强调关税是促成大型专案落地的杠杆。

最大项目为俄亥俄州一座天然气发电设施，预计可发电9.2吉瓦；日本预计投资最高达$33 billion，美日政府资料点名SB Energy（软银集团SoftBank Group子公司），东芝（Toshiba）与日立（Hitachi）也表达有意参与。据称在满载运转时，9.2吉瓦的输出约相当于9座核反应炉，或PJM Interconnection电网上约7.4 million户家庭的用电量。第二个专案为墨西哥湾深水原油出口设施：对德州GulfLink出口终端（由Sentinel Midstream营运）投资$2.1 billion，并预估在满载时可促成每年最高达$30 billion的美国原油出口；同时也提到先前公共说法曾出现不一致，起初将其标示为LNG。

第三个专案为一座$600 million的高压高温合成工业钻石砂粒设施，涉及Element Six（戴比尔斯De Beers子公司），并被宣传为先进制造（含半导体、汽车与能源）所需的关键投入。结构上由日本提供资金、资产在美国建置，回报设计为流回日本；日本表示该$550 billion机制意在避免高风险高报酬押注，且先前曾称现金投资可能仅占1-2%，多数融资将透过贷款与担保。专案选定后，日本有45个营业日拨款；若拒绝，美方可回收部分收入或提高关税，进一步强化关税与投资的连动，而$36 billion这一批次被量化为超过日本在2025年对美净外国直接投资的一半。此前讨论的更大管线每个潜在专案约从$350 million到高达$100 billion不等，凸显规模差异与执行不确定性，尽管同时宣称具迫切性。

Japan announced a first tranche of up to $36 billion in investments in US oil, gas, and critical mineral-related projects under a broader $550 billion US-Japan trade and investment mechanism tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff deal. The announcement was dated February 18, 2026, and comes ahead of an expected Trump-Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meeting in Washington on March 19, with the trade framework previously setting levies at 15% on Japanese products after Trump had threatened 25%. Japan framed the package as strengthening economic security via supply chains spanning critical minerals, energy, and artificial intelligence, while Trump publicly emphasized tariffs as the enabling lever for large-scale projects.

The largest item is an Ohio natural gas power facility expected to generate 9.2 gigawatts; Japan is expected to invest up to $33 billion, with SB Energy (a SoftBank Group subsidiary) identified in US and Japanese government materials and Toshiba and Hitachi expressing interest in participating. At full capacity, the 9.2 gigawatts output was described as roughly equivalent to 9 nuclear reactors or the electricity use of about 7.4 million homes on PJM Interconnection’s grid. The second project is a Gulf of Mexico deepwater crude export facility: a $2.1 billion investment in the Texas GulfLink export terminal (operated by Sentinel Midstream) that is projected to enable up to $30 billion in annual US crude exports at full capacity, alongside a noted earlier mismatch in public descriptions that initially labeled it as LNG.

A third project is a $600 million high-pressure, high-temperature synthetic industrial diamond grit facility involving Element Six (a De Beers subsidiary), pitched as a key input for advanced manufacturing including semiconductors, autos, and energy. Structurally, Japan supplies capital while assets are built in the US, with returns designed to flow back to Japan; Japan indicated the $550 billion mechanism is intended to avoid high-risk, high-return bets, and previously suggested only 1-2% would be cash investment with most financing via loans and guarantees. After project selection, Japan has 45 business days to fund; if it declines, the US can claw back certain revenues or increase tariffs, reinforcing the tariff-investment linkage, and the $36 billion tranche was quantified as more than half of Japan’s net foreign direct investment into the US in 2025. The broader pipeline discussed earlier ranged from about $350 million to as much as $100 billion per potential project, highlighting scale variability and execution uncertainty despite stated urgency.