Several Japanese power producers have withheld full-year earnings guidance due to uncertainty around the supply and cost of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The war in the Middle East has driven a 70% increase in LNG prices in Asia, while the Strait of Hormuz — a key chokepoint for energy supplies from the region — remains effectively closed to shipping nearly nine weeks into the conflict. The world’s biggest LNG plant in Qatar was also damaged by missile attacks last month.

Citing this uncertainty, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which serves Japan’s capital, did not provide guidance for the fiscal year ending March 2027 when it published prior-year earnings on Thursday. Tohoku Electric Power and Okinawa Electric Power also refrained from announcing guidance for the fiscal year.

Chubu Electric Power, the utility that covers the nation’s industrial heartland, also withheld guidance in an announcement earlier this week.

In recent years, Japan has cut dependence on the Middle East for its LNG to the point where Qatar and the United Arab Emirates combined accounted for about 6% of total supplies in 2025, compared with 25% a year earlier, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler.

Utilities, however, remain exposed to the cost of importing fuel. Many power producers secure LNG on long-term contracts, which are linked to oil prices that have surged since the conflict began. Importers must also, on occasion, secure spot cargoes, which have also become much more expensive.

The rising LNG costs are expected to “weigh heavily” on earnings at all Japanese utilities in the second quarter of the fiscal year, which runs from July to September, SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Koji Kamichika wrote.

These costs could get passed to Japanese consumers in the summer, when utilities typically adjust their rates based on a system that uses the average import cost of oil, gas and coal.

All 10 of Japan’s major regional utilities released their full-year earnings this week.

In a sign that a resumption of combat operations in the Middle East is under consideration, U.S. Central Command’s Adm. Brad Cooper will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday for discussions, according to an Axios report, which cited two unnamed people.