Japan PM pushed back against US request to ban Russian energy imports, sources say

Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told US President Donald Trump during their meeting in Tokyo that banning Russian liquefied natural gas imports would be difficult, two Japanese government officials said on Wednesday.

The officials asked not to be identified because the information is not public.

The issue of Russian LNG came up during the leaders’ bilateral meeting on Tuesday, and Takaichi sought Trump’s understanding over Japan’s energy needs, they said.

Russian supplies account for nearly 9 percent of Japan’s total LNG imports, and Japanese companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold stakes in the Sakhalin-2 LNG project in Russia’s Far East.

Ahead of Trump’s Asia trip this week, the US urged buyers of Russia’s energy, including Japan, to cease imports, and impose sanctions on its two biggest oil exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, to pressure Moscow to end the Ukraine war.

According to the Nikkei business daily, Takaichi, elected as Japan’s first female prime minister last week, told Trump that if Japan ends purchases, it would only make China and Russia happy.

China and India have been the top buyers of Russia’s energy exports, though many Indian refiners have paused new Russian oil orders in the wake of last week’s fresh US sanctions as they await clarity from the government and suppliers.

Japan has stepped up U.S. LNG purchases in the last few years as it tries to diversify away from its main supplier Australia and prepare for the expiration of supply contracts with Russia’s Sakhalin-2 project.

Most supply from Sakhalin-2 ends in the period from 2028 to 2033. Replacing that gas would be costly and lead to higher electricity prices, Japan’s industry minister said last week.

Japan buys less than 1 percent of its oil imports from Russia under a sanctions waiver due to expire in December, with the bulk of its oil supply covered by the Middle East.