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Japan to slowly phase out Russian oil, keep interests in projects

Japan will slowly phase out oil imports from Russia while maintaining its interests in oil and gas projects in the Russian Far East, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday. The premier told a virtual meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven nations earlier in the day that Japan will ban Russian oil imports "in principle," as part of additional sanctions levied on Moscow to punish it for its war launched in late February. The measure on oil imports marks a major shift for resource-poor Japan, which had been reluctant to take the step as it tried to diversify its supplies. Tokyo has already announced it will phase out Russian coal. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference Japan needs to diversify energy sources and suppliers to reduce its reliance on Russia and that the country will "take every measure," including the use of renewable and nuclear power, to that end.

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