Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday that Japan will take time to phase out Russian oil imports after agreeing to an embargo with the other G7 nations to protest Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
He made the statement during a G7 leaders' online conference on Sunday.
“For a country heavily dependent on energy imports, it’s a very difficult decision. But G7 coordination is most important at a time like now,” Kishida said, according to a statement released by the Japanese government.
Russia is Japan's fifth-largest crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplier.
At an online conference on Sunday, the G7 nations pledged to proceed "in a timely and orderly fashion" to put further pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Picture Credits: Reuters
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