TOKYO: A representative of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) has departed to Russia on a visit, accompanied by officials from Japa...
TOKYO: A representative of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) has departed to Russia on a visit, accompanied by officials from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Foreign Ministry, a Keidanren spokesperson has told TASS.
"A member of [Keidanren’s] secretariat has departed [to Russia]," he said.
According to the official, the delegate plans to discuss support for European companies working in Russia. He is not expected to raise the subject of concrete projects or cooperation areas.
Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa told reporters earlier this month that Director-General of the Trade Policy Bureau at his ministry, Masayoshi Arai, and Masaki Ishikawa, deputy director-general for European affairs at the foreign ministry, are now on a business trip to Russia to discuss "protecting the assets of Japanese companies still operating in Russia."
The Kyodo news agency, which was the first to report about the planned trip, said that the government expected to discuss economic cooperation after the Ukrainian conflict is over. Other top Japanese media outlets share this opinion, naming energy supplies as a possible area of cooperation.
In recent years, Japan has imported approximately 95% of its oil from the Middle East, with most of these shipments transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Amid the escalating situation surrounding Iran and disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Tokyo has become increasingly concerned about finding alternative sources.
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