Teikoku Oil Co. President Masatoshi Sugioka said Friday the company was willing to explore for gas in the East China Sea despite the risk of Chinese interruption, but it wanted assurance from Tokyo that its workers on the project would be safe.
The government in July issued an exploratory license to Teikoku Oil for three sites in the East China Sea near natural gas fields China is developing.
Beijing has criticized Tokyo's moves to develop the region.