Japan is looking to protect the assets of Japanese companies operating in Russia, including in some energy projects, by keeping communication channels open, a top Japanese official said on Tuesday.
“We have been dispatching Japanese government officials to Russia to maintain contact, and this current dispatch is part of that ongoing effort,” Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s Trade Minister, said at a briefing, as carried by Bloomberg.
Several major Japanese companies continue to operate in Russia although most firms from Japan’s Western allies quit the Russian market and Russian projects in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Akazawa told the press briefing that the visits have been regular in recent years and are aimed at protecting the assets that Japanese companies hold or operate in Russia.
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The latest visit by officials from Japan’s trade and foreign affairs ministries is aimed at facilitating “communication with the Russian side from the perspective of protecting the assets of Japanese companies operating in Russia,” Akazawa said, without providing details.
Japanese conglomerates Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi still hold minority stakes in the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project after the Russian government reshuffled the shareholding in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Moscow restructured the ownership of the project, now operated by Gazprom, following the withdrawal of major international oil and gas firms from Russia back in 2022.
Early this month, a Russian tanker carrying crude from Sakhalin Island arrived in Japan in the latest sign energy-strapped importers are intent on securing any supply they can find, even from sanctioned suppliers.
The Sakhalin-2 project specifically has been exempted from sanctions precisely because of the importance of this source of crude for Japan, which also has participation in the management of the project. Said participation is made up of Mitsui and Mitsubishi, with stakes of 12.5% and 10%, respectively.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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