Kishida: Japan To Study How To Phase Out Russian Oil Imports
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says Japan will study the current situation to decide how to phase out oil imports from Russia.
Kishida spoke to reporters on Monday morning, hours after he announced at an online summit of the Group of Seven nations that Japan will ban Russian oil in principle. The meeting was held to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
Kishida said the G7 countries and Ukraine reconfirmed their solidarity.
He said the decision on Russian oil is extremely tough for Japan because the country relies on imports for most of its energy sources.
But Kishida said the G7's unity matters more than anything else now, and he made the decision in line with the G7 statement.
The prime minister said that based on the current situation, Japan will discuss when to start reducing Russian oil imports and to stop importing the country's oil. He said Japan will take time to implement measures to phase out the imports.
On oil and natural gas projects in Russia's Far East, known as Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2, Kishida noted that Japan will keep its stakes in them.