On October 15, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato that President Trump's administration expected Japan to stop importing Russian energy.
"The Kato Minister and I also discussed important issues related to US-Japan economic relations and expectations that Japan will stop importing Russian energy," Bessent wrote on social media.
The two ministers had a discussion on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting and meetings of G7 and G20 financial leaders held in Washington D.C.
When asked about the US demand, Kato's Minister gave a cautious answer: "Japan will do what it can based on the basic principle of coordinating with the G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine in a fair manner".
The US request puts Japan in an awkward position. Earlier this month, the G7 countries - including the US, Japan, Canada, UK, France, Germany and Italy - agreed to coordinate and strengthen sanctions against Russia by targeting countries that buy Russian oil.
However, Japan is an island nation with poor resources and depends heavily on imported energy. The country continues to buy Sakhalin Blend crude oil - the fuel associated with Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 gas projects, where Japanese corporations such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi still have shares.
The project is considered a "survival" for Japan's energy security, as it accounts for about 9% of the country's total LNG imports. Giving up this supply will be a huge economic and political challenge for Japan.
The pressure on Japan comes shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to stop buying oil from Russia.
"I am not happy that India is buying oil, and today Mr. Modi assured me that they will not buy oil from Russia," Mr. Trump said.
If confirmed, this would be a major change for India, one of Moscow's leading energy customers.
Russia is now India's top oil supplier, exporting 1.62 million barrels per day to the country in September, accounting for about a third of India's oil imports. However, Prime Minister Modi has been fighting US pressure for months, arguing that buying Russian oil is for national energy security.
