|
|
Japan has joined G7 and the European Union in barring imports of Russian coal, prime minister Fumio Kishida announced on 8 April.
Japan will focus on expanding its use of renewable and nuclear power to offset the loss, he said.
Last year, Japan imported more coal than any country other than China and India. Russia was its second largest supplier, accounting for 10 percent of imports.
The Japanese city of Hiroshima imports half its natural gas supplies from Russia, Tokyo 10 percent. Japan and Russia also have joint ventures in oil and liquefied natural gas.
“Japan will be challenged to make up for the supplies from Russia,” energy consultant Tom O’Sullivan with energy analysis firm Mathyos told the Financial Times.
Importing more coal from Australia or Indonesia is a logical alternative “but it’s not an immediate solution,” he noted, adding that Japan was able to curb its domestic energy use after 2011’s Fukushima nuclear disaster and so could possibly do that again.
Japan also is barring Russian vodka and several other products, barring Japanese entities from making new investments in Russia, and freezing the assets of Sberbank and Alpha-Bank, two of Russia’s largest financial houses.
The price of benchmark Australian coal, a key supply in the Asia-Pacific region, reached almost $400 a ton immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine. It has since settled, closing at about $265 a ton last week, though still up a third in price since this year began.
South Korean utilities are importing Russian coal under existing contracts but not signing new ones, the FT said.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Foregoing Russian coal is low-hanging fruit for Japan in terms of joining in Western sanctions. Indonesia and Australia, Japan’s near neighbors, are the world’s leading coal exporters.
Japan has been a good customer of both and will be close to the front of the line for additional shipments, should any become available.