Reuters: Japan refused to stop buying Russian gas

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi refused to stop importing liquefied natural gas from Russia during a meeting with the US President Donald Trump in Tokyo.

This is reported by Reuters, citing anonymous sources.

Prime Minister Takaichi urged Trump to show understanding, as it would be difficult for Japan to abandon Russian energy sources, anonymous officials told the publication.

Japanese Economy Minister Yoji Muto said a week ago that Japan would reduce purchases of Russian LNG, but would not be able to completely abandon it in the near future, as this would lead to an increase in electricity tariffs, Bloomberg writes.

Japan and Russian gas

According to Reuters, the share of Russian gas is almost 9% of Japanʼs total Russian gas imports, and Japanese companies have stakes in the Sakhalin-2 gas pipeline construction project in the Far East.

At the same time, Japan has increased purchases of American LNG over the past few years, trying to spread investments across different assets to reduce risks and increase income, the publication writes.

• In September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that one of the elements of the new package of sanctions against Russia would be a ban on LNG imports from Russia to the EU.

Author: Anastasia Zaikova

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