Japan exit from Sakhalin LNG would let China swoop in: ex-minister

LDP's Seko says Tokyo must be pragmatic on Russia sanctions regarding energy

20220306TKY LNG ship in Shizuoka

An LNG ship arrives at a port in Sodeshicho, Shizuoka. Japan has been investing for years in Russia's Sakhalin oil and gas projects to reduce its dependence on Middle East energy.  

KEN MORIYASU, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japan needs to be pragmatic about its energy procurement and think twice about leaving a Russian natural gas project, a senior politician in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said on Sunday.

Hiroshige Seko, the party's upper house secretary general and a longtime minister for economy, trade and industry, said that Japan has been investing for years in the Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 offshore oil and gas developments, "even before we knew if there was gas or not."

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