Русский
Japan has purchased a tanker’s worth of Russian oil amid the worsening situation around Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with the possibility of more to come. Japan has been sourcing 95% of its oil imports from the Middle East.
The oil tanker Voyager, sailing under the Omani flag, is currently off the southern coast of Kyushu Island . It is expected to arrive at Kikuma Port on Japan’s Shikoku Island, where the Taiyo Oil refinery is located, on Sunday (May 3).
Japan’s Taiyo Oil has purchased Russia’s Sakhalin Blend crude oil from the Sakhalin Region as part of efforts to diversify supply sources beyond the Middle East. According to the company, “Taiyo Oil has a social responsibility to ensure stable supplies of petroleum products and is acting appropriately in cooperation with the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. Efforts are also being made to diversify supplies from regions outside the Middle East. Supplies of Sakhalin Blend oil are not subject to sanctions.”
Japan has been imposing sanctions and generally following the Western trends; however, unlike the European Union, they have not repatriated any frozen Russian funds elsewhere and have been flexible when it comes to protecting their own economy from energy sanctions.
