Japan has no plans to pull out of two major energy projects off the Russian island of Sakhalin and the policy does not contradict the slew of sanctions it placed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, a senior government official said Sunday.
"If we give up our stakes and Russia gets them," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said on an NHK television pgoram, energy imports could be "more costly" for Japan in the long term.
He also said if Japan's stakes in the Sakhalin 1 and 2 oil and liquefied natural gas projects are obtained by other countries, there is a possibility that those not imposing sanctions against Russia will benefit.