Item 1 of 2 Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Japan-US summit meeting with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan, 28 October 2025. The US President is on a three-day visit aimed at reaffirming the Japan-US alliance. FRANCK ROBICHON/Pool via REUTERS
[1/2]Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Japan-US summit meeting with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan, 28 October 2025. The US President is on a three-day visit aimed at reaffirming the Japan-US alliance. FRANCK… Purchase Licensing Rights
TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told U.S. President Donald Trump that banning Russian LNG imports would be difficult during their meeting in Tokyo, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday, citing Japanese government officials.
Russian LNG accounts for nearly 9% of Japan’s total LNG imports, with Japanese companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi (8058.T) having stakes in the Sakhalin-2 project.
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Before Trump’s Asia trip this week, the U.S. urged buyers of Russian energy, including Japan, to cease imports, and put sanctions on Moscow’s two biggest oil exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil (LKOH.MM)
, in a bid to push the Kremlin into talks to end the Ukraine war.
, in a bid to push the Kremlin into talks to end the Ukraine war.
According to Nikkei, Takaichi, elected as Japan’s first female prime minister last week, told Trump that if Japan withdraws, China and Russia will only be happy, asking the U.S. for understanding of Japan’s energy needs.
China and India are top buyers of Russian energy.
Japan has stepped up U.S. LNG purchases in the last few years as it tries to diversify away from its key supplier Australia and prepare for the expiry of supply contracts with Russia’s Sakhalin-2 LNG project.
Most supply from Sakhalin-2 ends in the period from 2028 to 2033. Replacing those supplies would be costly and cause higher electricity prices, Japan’s industry minister said last week.
Japan buys less than 1% 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.
Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kim Coghill
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