Japan has received its first shipment of Russian oil since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global energy supplies at the onset of the Iran war, according to international media reports.
A tanker carrying crude from Russia’s Sakhalin-2 project arrived off the coast of Imabari in western Japan on Monday, TV Tokyo and the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing unnamed officials from wholesaler Taiyo Oil.
Japan, which depends on West Asia for about 95% of its oil imports, has been seeking to diversify its energy sources after the outbreak of war in February led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, severely constraining global oil shipments.
The Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s Far East remains exempt from international sanctions imposed on Moscow following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
According to the reports, Taiyo Oil accepted the shipment at the request of Japan’s economy ministry.
The crude is expected to be refined into gasoline, naphtha and other petroleum products.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday that disruptions to global oil flows were having an “enormous impact” on the Asia-Pacific region.
Speaking in Canberra after talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Takaichi said Japan and Australia would work urgently to secure stable energy supplies.
The Strait of Hormuz typically carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, making it one of the most strategically critical energy chokepoints globally.
Japan’s renewed intake of Russian oil comes despite strained ties with Moscow after Tokyo joined Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war.
