US Urges Japan to Fully Halt Russian Energy Imports Amid G7 Sanctions Push

The United States is expecting Japan to fully halt energy imports from Russia, according to a statement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent following a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato in Washington, Rueters reported on October 16.

“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 X after the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the IMF, G7, and G20 finance summits.

When asked by reporters about the US request, Kato responded: “Japan will do what it can based on the basic principle of coordinating with G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine in a fair manner.”

According to Reuters, Japan has previously committed with its G7 partners to phase out Russian oil imports in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, Tokyo still purchases Sakhalin Blend crude—a byproduct of LNG production at the Sakhalin-2 project—which remains critical to Japan’s energy security and accounts for around 9% of its liquefied natural gas imports.

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The G7 recently pledged to strengthen sanctions enforcement by targeting third countries that help Moscow circumvent restrictions through energy trade. In line with this effort, Japan last month lowered its price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $47.60 per barrel, aligning with the EU’s latest sanctions package.

As reported by Reuters, citing Japan’s finance ministry, the country imported just 599,413 barrels of Russian crude between January and July — roughly 0.1% of its total oil imports.

Earlier, it was reported that Japan will close all six branches of its Japan Center for Trade and Economic Development in Russia.

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