The Russia-Ukraine war has caused an increase of electricity prices in Japan and other countries, because Russia is one of the major energy suppliers in the world.
On April 1, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Japan would not withdraw from its energy projects in Russia — oil and liquified natural gas projects Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 – despite the fact that Tokyo has imposed economic sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda also explained that “We have interest in (these projects) and have secured long-term claimants ... In the current situation of sudden energy price increases, we can procure energy at prices cheaper than the market price. This is extremely important for energy security.”
Obviously, the Japanese government hesitates to abandon its economic cooperation with Russia owing to Japan’s energy security vulnerability.