Russian LNG represents a "vulnerability" that puts Japan at risk of retaliation from Moscow.
It is specified that while the American and British firms ExxonMobil and Shell abandoned their shares in the Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 projects, "Tokyo remained in place even in accordance with the new Russian rules."
In September, it became known that in August Japan increased LNG imports from Russia by 211% compared to last year, oil imports fell by 20%.
On January 13, the TASS news agency, citing a joint statement by the two countries, reported that the US and Japanese authorities confirmed their intention to continue to exert sanctions pressure on Russia and support Ukraine.