Japan's Prime Minister rejects Trump's call to halt Russian oil and gas imports
Photo: Sanae Takaichi (facebook.com)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in a conversation with US President Donald Trump, rejected the American leader's initiative to have Tokyo refuse to purchase Russian oil and gas, according to Reuters.
Takaichi, who was elected last week as Japan's first female prime minister, asked the US during the conversation for understanding regarding Japan's energy needs.
Japan has increased its purchases of LNG from the US in recent years in an effort to diversify its supplies, moving away from its key supplier, Australia, and preparing for the expiration of supply contracts with Russia's Sakhalin-2 LNG project.
Most of the supplies from Sakhalin-2 will end between 2028 and 2033. Replacing these supplies will be expensive and will lead to higher electricity prices.
Japan purchases less than 1% of its oil imports from Russia under an exemption from sanctions that expires in December, with most of its oil supplies coming from the Middle East.
US-Japan relations
On October 27, US President Donald Trump arrived in Japan on a visit to conclude a large-scale agreement on the development of shipbuilding capacities.
The United States expects Japan to completely abandon imports of Russian energy resources.
Japan has already signed several agreements with American gas producers, but is refraining from participating in this project. The US, meanwhile, is seeking to strengthen its position in the Asian energy market amid a reduction in Russian supplies.
