Berk Kutay Gökmen
21 October 2025•Update: 21 October 2025
ISTANBUL
Japanese Industry Minister Yoji Muto said Tuesday that liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia are crucial for Tokyo’s energy security, Jiji Press reported.
LNG imported from Russia "plays an extremely important role in Japan's energy security," Muto told a news conference.
Muto noted that Japan has been gradually reducing its dependence on Russian energy in the face of the conflict in Ukraine.
He added that LNG from the Sakhalin-2 oil and natural gas development project in Russia accounts for about 10% of Japan's total LNG imports.
His remarks came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that he informed Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato about the Trump administration's expectation that Japan would stop importing Russian energy.
"Minister Kato and I also discussed important issues pertaining to the US-Japan economic relationship and the Administration's expectation that Japan stop importing Russian energy," Bessent wrote on US social media company X.
Bessent met last Wednesday with Kato to discuss plans for mobilizing Japan’s strategic investment in the US, where the two exchanged views on important issues in the US-Japan economic relationship.
