Japan receives Russian oil shipment

Japan has received its first shipment of oil from Russia since the Strait of Hormuz was closed due to the Iran war. The crude, from Russia's Sakhalin-2 natural gas development project, arrived in Imabari, western Japan, and is being offloaded to a refinery. This move by Japan, which relies heavily on Middle East oil, is an effort to diversify its energy sources following the significant disruption to global oil supplies caused by the Strait of Hormuz closure. The Sakhalin-2 project is exempt from international sanctions against Russia, allowing Japan to continue trade despite strained diplomatic ties over the Ukraine war. Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized the severe impact of the oil supply squeeze on the Asia-Pacific region and discussed securing stable energy supplies with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.