The news agency stated that the proposed pipeline would connect gas fields in Russia’s Far East Sakhalin region with Hokkaido in Japan’s north, however representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Investment have denied the offer.
Russia and Japan have previously been in talks about constructing a pipeline to Japan. In 2010, Pipelines International reported on a meeting between the two nations prior to the completion of the 502 km Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas pipeline, which began transporting gas in 2011.
It is well known that Russia is looking at new opportunities, particularly within Asia, to export its resources as European countries seek to reduce their dependence on Russia’s energy supplies.
Japan is the world’s largest LNG importer relying on LNG imports for nearly all of its natural gas demand, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The Fukishima nuclear disaster of 2011 has heightened this demand in recent years.