Home » After Ukraine was invaded, Japan and South Korea announced to “stop cooperation with Russia” (Photo) Japan | Coal | Import | South Korea | Energy | Supply |

After Ukraine was invaded, Japan and South Korea announced to “stop cooperation with Russia” (Photo) Japan | Coal | Import | South Korea | Energy | Supply |

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After Ukraine was invaded, Japan and South Korea announced to “stop cooperation with Russia” (Photo) Japan | Coal | Import | South Korea | Energy | Supply |

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs/CC BY 4.0)

[See China April 8, 2022 News](See the report compiled by Chinese reporter Gao Meili)JapanRussia will be bannedcoalimport. Japan will join the EU and G7 ally in targeting the country’s energy sector for the first time after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I am banning the import of Russian coal. By gradually reducing imports, we will reduce our energy dependence on Russia,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday, adding that Japan would focus on renewablesenergyand nuclear power to replace lost supplies.

Japan is the world‘s third-largest coal importer after India and China, while Russia was the country’s second-largest supplier last year, accounting for more than 10 percent of imports, according to the Financial Times. Japan’s energy relationship with Russia is sensitive because Japan has a large number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil projects jointly developed and operated with state-owned companies in Sakhalin and the Arctic. Some of Japan’s largest cities also rely heavily on the country’s energy. Half of Hiroshima’s gas supply comes from Russia, and Tokyo about 10%.

The government said Japan would not withdraw from the projects because of the country’s heavy reliance on energy imports, the need to diversify supply and the fact that many nuclear power plants were idled after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. “It’s a big move, Japan will be challenged to make up for Russian supplies, and it’s possible Japan will import more coal from Indonesia or Australia,” said Tom O’Sullivan of energy consultancy Mathyos. O’Sullivan added that this is not an immediate solution, but obviously investing in solar and wind energy is another answer, as Japan did after the Fukushima crisis, cutting energy use.

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Separately, South Korean companies said they had stopped importing Russian coal. An official at Korea Western Electric Power Co. said the company has not purchased Russian coal since Ukraine was invaded. “We are following existing contracts and have stopped any new contracts with Russia due to concerns about payments due to international sanctions,” he said. An official with South Korea’s East West Electric Power Company said the company was considering starting this month. to stop new imports. “We had been importing Russian coal until last month, but it is now under review,” he said.

Japan will also ban imports of certain Russian products, including vodka, Kishida said. New investments in the country were also banned and the assets of Russian banks “Sberbank” and “Alfa-Bank” were frozen. Japan’s sanctions against Russia include freezing the assets of Russian officials and oligarchs, as well as its central and commercial banks and other institutions. Tokyo also banned technology exports to Russia and removed some of the country’s banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

Japan’s response to Ukraine stands in stark contrast to its more conservative stance following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. The practice has been popular with the public, according to opinion polls, a big factor for Kishida, who faces an upper house election in July.

Sourcing alternative supply will be a challenge, at least in the short term, said Colin Hamilton, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets. Australian coal exports continue to be hampered by a new wave of floods. “Last week’s shipments were the weakest since mid-April 2017; while an increase in South African coal exports could be hampered by logistical issues; Indonesian exports are struggling with prolonged wet weather and stricter domestic sales regulations fight.”

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Coal prices in Asia surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the region’s benchmark Australian premium coal hitting nearly $400 a tonne before retreating. It is currently trading at $265 a tonne, up from $175 at the start of the year.

Source: Watch China

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