Japan holds on to oil, gas interests in Russia's Sakhalin, wary of China taking them

Liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin 2 project are stored in tanks on a vessel in Russia in February 2009. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Despite Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Japanese government intends for the time being to maintain its interests in energy projects in the Russian Far East island of Sakhalin.

If Japan were to withdraw from the island, the government believes China would be the likely nation to take over the interests, effectively undermining the sanctions imposed on Russia.