Japan denies report government asked trading houses to join Russia visit in May

TOKYO - The Japanese government on Friday (April 3) denied a report by Kyodo news agency that it has asked the country's top trading houses to join a delegation which plans to visit Russia in May.

Late on Thursday, citing sources, Kyodo said that the government is anticipating that Japanese companies will fully resume business in Russia once its war with Ukraine is over.

It added that the government has requested participation from Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Sumitomo Corp, Marubeni, as well as from Mitsui O.S.K Lines shipping company.

"As for the factual accuracy of the report, it is not true. The Japanese government will continue to implement sanctions against Russia," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a regular news conference.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in 2022 and international diplomatic efforts have not yet led to a peace deal. Japan joined a wide range of western sanctions on Russia and largely stopped importing oil from there after 2022.

Japan's dependence on the Middle East, which supplies over 90 per cent of its oil needs, is being challenged as the US-Israeli war on Iran stops shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

Japan's industry ministry said separately it did not make any such requests to trading companies. Marubeni declined comment, other companies did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

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