Minister of Industry: Japan will act in its national interest regarding Russian energy

When asked on Tuesday about Russian energy imports, Japan's trade minister Yoji Muto responded that the country would act in its own national interest while maintaining close coordination and cooperation with the international community.

Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said that he had told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato last week that the Trump Administration expects Japan will stop importing Russian Energy. U.S. president Donald Trump will visit Asia in the second half of this month.

Tokyo and other G7 nations have agreed to reduce Russian oil imports as a response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Japan, however, continues to purchase liquefied gas from the Sakhalin-2 Project, which is crucial to Japan's security of energy, as it represents about 9% its LNG imports.

Muto, a Japanese journalist, told reporters that Japan had been steadily decreasing its dependency on Russian energy since the invasion of Ukraine. He declined to comment directly on Bessent’s remarks.

"We acknowledge that LNG from Sakhalin-2 is extremely important in Japan's security of energy," he said, noting its contribution to around 3% total electricity production.

He added that Japan will continue to work closely with the international community including the G7.

U.S.-European pressure on Asian buyers could limit India's oil purchases from December. This would lead to cheaper supplies in China. However, Japan is unlikely to stop its Sakhalin LNG exports for the time being, according to trade sources and analysts last week.

Washington has been exerting pressure through trade negotiations on China, India, and Japan to reduce their purchases Russian oil and LNG. Meanwhile, Britain just imposed sanctions against Chinese and Indian entities. The European Union may impose more sanctions. Western nations claim that Moscow uses its energy revenue to fund the Ukraine conflict.

(source: Reuters)