Japan will not abandon Sakhalin-2 LNG stake, Kishida says
19:14 JST, March 31, 2022
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will not abandon its stake in the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Russia as it is essential to energy security, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday, his clearest comments yet on Tokyo’s plans for the development.
The Ukraine crisis has put Japan’s involvement in the Sakhalin-2 project and similar ones in Russia in sharp focus since Western oil majors have said they would pull out in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia calls its actions there a “special military operation.”
While resource poor Japan has been ramping up sanctions against Russia, Tokyo has repeatedly said that Russian LNG is essential to energy security.
“Japan has a stake in Sakhalin 2, which is contributing to securing long-term, stable and low-priced supply of LNG. It is an extremely important project for Japan’s energy security,” Kishida told parliament.
“It is not our policy to withdraw,” Kishida said, adding his government would continue seeking ways to reduce Japan’s dependence on Russian energy sources.
Japanese leading trading houses Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. own stakes of 12.5% and 10% respectively in the Sakhalin 2 project, from which Shell has announced plans to exit.
Russia represents 4% of Japan’s crude oil imports and 9% of LNG imports, making Moscow a vital energy supplier for Japan, particularly after fuel meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant in 2011 led to sharply lower usage of nuclear power reactors.
"Politics" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Chinese Ships Stay in Japanese Waters near Senkaku Islands for 2 Days
-
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Promotes Revised NISA Investment Program to Young People; Kishida Focusing on Moving Money From Savings to Investment in a Safe Environment
-
Japan, U.S. to Join Forces on AI, Semiconductors; Seek to Counter China’s ‘Military-Civil Fusion’
-
Japan, U.S. to Work Together for Expanding Marine Product Supply Chains; Countering China’s Economic Coercion
-
84% of People Nationwide Say They Feel Japan’s National Security Is Under Threat
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Japan Lags in Efforts to Gain Value from Human Resources; Govt Working to Increase Usage
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- Cherry Blossoms Draw Crowd to Tokyo’s Ueno Park; Viewing Season Kicks Off to Slow Start
- Shohei Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara Appears in School Textbook; Publisher Considers Replacing Content
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers