Fears of Russian ‘reprisal’ due to sanctions in Japan

The article points out that Japan has never forgotten the oil shock of the 1970s and threats to its energy security have settled in the minds of the Japanese government.

“Japanese authorities characterize the continued use of Sakhalin as an energy security imperative and warn that withdrawal from the project could lead to Chinese involvement in the projects,” the author writes.

Since the start of events in Ukraine, the Japanese government has imposed sanctions from Russia on 818 people, LPR and DPR, 227 Russian companies and institutions, and 11 banks.

In early October, President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to create a new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-1 project, which will take over the rights and obligations of Exxon Neftegaz limited. At least until all shares are distributed, the Rosneft structure will be managed by Sakhalinmorneftegaz-Shelf. At the same time, foreign participants in the consortium will be able to keep their shares in the project if they wish.