Japanese Opposition Proposes Government Import Oil from Russia

Tokyo - A member of parliament from Japan’s opposition camp has proposed that the government consider importing oil from Russia amid rising prices and the need to maintain stable energy supplies. Constitutional Democratic Party lawmaker Hitoshi Goto stated that Russia, as the world’s largest oil producer, has export capacity that can be utilised. “Russia is the world’s largest oil producer and has the capacity to export; even India and South Korea have begun exploring shipments of oil from there,” he said. According to him, Japan also needs to consider this option to obtain large quantities of supply at lower prices. He emphasised that Japan would take such steps through close coordination with the international community, including G7 countries. Since the conflict in Ukraine, Japan has stopped routine purchases of Russian oil, although it still occasionally imports limited quantities through the Sakhalin-2 energy project. For example, refiner Taiyo Oil recorded imports of around 600,000 barrels of Sakhalin Blend crude oil last summer, which was the first shipment since 2023.