Japanese PM says Europe's energy sector in "terrible situation" due to Russian dependence

Europe has found itself in a "terrible situation" in its energy sector, as it relied for decades on cheap and stable supplies from Russia.

The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kisida expressed this assessment on January 8 while talking to a local TV channel NHK, as reported by TASS.

According to Kisida, the energy situation is changing dramatically worldwide. In particular, since last year there is a shortage of various energy resources, which leads to changes in the structure of production. Europe has spent decades thinking about life and production based on stable and cheap supplies of energy resources from Russia.

The prime minister also noted, that Japan, in turn, is heavily dependent on supplies from the Middle East. In this regard, Kisida noted that Japan, which is geographically dependent on imported energy resources, should use all available possibilities, including renewable and nuclear energy. This is important, he added, in terms of providing the country with energy resources and meeting the goal of decarbonization.

The publication recalls, that Japan joined the G7 in implementing the Russian oil price ceiling mechanism. Since June last year, it has effectively brought to zero oil purchases from Russia, with little import in July and August. The restrictions on Russian oil do not apply to deliveries from the "Sakhalin-2" project, whose main product is LNG, and oil deliveries are linked to gas contracts. Caliber.Az recalls, that this project is located on the Russian Sakhalin islands in the far east of the country close to the Japanese islands.

However, the sanctions did not affect LNG shipments from Russia to Japan, as TASS reports. As stated repeatedly in Tokyo, they are extremely important for the country’s energy security: Russian gas alone accounts for about 9% of all gas imports and 3% of the country’s electricity generation.