Tokyo- The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, thanked Japan on Tuesday for diverting part of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserves to the region in anticipation of a possible interruption of the supply due to the Ukraine crisis.
Von der Leyen “deeply expressed his gratitude for the diversion” in a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in which the dignitaries “shared their vision of strengthening and promoting cooperation” bilaterally, according to a statement released hours later by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Japan announced its decision last week in the face of heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia, from which Europe receives most of its gas supplies, and fears of an interruption of distribution by Moscow in response to sanctions that various countries have threatened to impose it in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Kishida told Von der Leyen that he decided to share the surplus of LNG destined for his private companies with Europe “to show solidarity with allies and related partners,” and assured that the Asian country will continue to cooperate to guarantee energy stability.
In their talk of about 20 minutes, both leaders shared their “great concern” about the situation around Ukraine, and promised to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of that country, while monitoring the evolution of the situation.
Japan is one of the largest importers of LNG in the world due to its geographical peculiarities and lack of own resources, with imports of 74.5 million tons in 2020, which came mainly from Australia, Malaysia and Qatar (65%), while barely 6% was obtained from Russia and the United States.
