Japan is offering Europe some of its liquefied natural gas imports amid fears that supplies will be disrupted by tensions over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Minister of Commerce Koichi Hagiuda, AFP reported.

Several shipments of gas are already being sent to Europe by private Japanese firms and will arrive this month, he said. He said that more ships will leave for Europe in March, but deliveries will be strictly dependent on meeting domestic demand.

Fears are growing that the conflict in Ukraine could spark an energy crisis in Europe, which is heavily dependent on supplies from Russia.

Analysts say it's unlikely that Russia will completely cut off supplies to Europe in the event of a conflict, and Japan's stockpiles are likely to be insufficient to make up the difference if Moscow does.

Tokyo's proposal is accompanied by frantic diplomatic maneuvering in an attempt to ease tensions with Russia over Ukraine.

Hagiuda told reporters that he had received requests from US and EU ambassadors to meet the need for fuel in Europe.

Japan was the world's largest LNG importer until last year and is highly dependent on the fuel. According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, Japanese gas companies will receive fuel at the market price.

The US Embassy said the move shows that Japan strongly supports the United States and our European partners and opposes the use of brute force.