Japan is the world's largest LNG importer, and last year, 9% of total LNG imports came from Russia. In May 2023, Russian LNG shipments to Japan rose by 9.1%, and the share of Russian LNG in imports reached 13.22%. Japan has repeatedly emphasized the importance of oil and gas projects in Russia, and Japanese companies have decided to stay in these projects, in contrast to US Exxon and Anglo-British Shell, which withdrew from projects in Sakhalin. In March 2023, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan would continue to participate in the projects as demand for LNG is expected to grow.
In addition, as early as 2022, Japan agreed with G7 partners to exclude Sakhalin projects from restrictions on oil prices. The US Treasury Department allowed Japan to continue purchases until September 30 2023.