Another Loss for the US: Japan Breaks with Western Allies, Buys Russian Oil at Prices Above Cap

The international Group of Seven (G7) – an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – agreed on a price cap for Russian oil on December 3, 2022: $60 per barrel.

However, one of the United States’ closest Asian allies is now purchasing Russian oil at prices above the cap, breaking with the sanctions imposed by US allies.

Japan’s crude imports were exempted from the $60/barrel cap by the participating countries until September. Japan already purchased about 748,000 barrels of Russian crude in the first two months of this year at a price of about $70 per barrel.

“Japan got the U.S. to agree to the exception, saying it needed it to ensure access to Russian energy. The concession shows Japan’s reliance on Russia for fossil fuels, which analysts said contributed to a hesitancy in Tokyo to back Ukraine more fully in its war with Russia,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan was the last leader from the G7 to travel to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, and Japan is the only country that has not supplied lethal weapons to the country.

FOX News reported:

As many European nations weaned themselves off Russian oil in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Japan stepped up its purchase of Russian natural gas.

Japan has almost none of its own fossil fuels, heavily relying on imports for much of its energy needs. Some analysts believe this dependency heavily influenced Japan’s hesitancy to fully back Ukraine against Russia. To date, Japan is the only Group of Seven members not to have supplied Ukraine with lethal weapons.

Despite the concession, Russian natural-gas imports to Japan are relatively small, accounting for around one-tenth of Japan’s supply and a fraction of Russia’s output, the Wall Journal reports. Most of what Russia exports to Japan comes from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s Far East.

The decision of Japan to rely more on Russian oil comes after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tone-deaf to Japan’s request for liquid natural gas earlier this year.

Japan’s Prime Minister came to Canada to talk economics, trade, oil&gas.

Justin Trudeau sent him away and Canada empty handed.

Now Japan is buying oil from Russia.
Maybe Trudeau will get a thank you card from Putin.#cdnecon pic.twitter.com/dS7omWE4vT

— Kirk Lubimov (@KirkLubimov) April 2, 2023

“Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently visited Canada seeking Canadian LNG. Trudeau began positively, “being a reliable supplier of energy is important ….” But then he added some unsolicited ecological advice, “the world is moving aggressively, meaningfully toward decarbonization, towards diversifying, towards more renewables.” Trudeau offered no LNG supply and no comment on the Cedar LNG project, which waits for federal approval. Kishida summed it up, “We didn’t get any commitment,” Summerland Review reported.

“Similarly, when Germany’s Chancellor, last year, requested Canadian LNG to help it navigate the energy crisis created by Russia’s war on Ukraine, Trudeau refused to support new LNG projects. There was “no business case” for Atlantic LNG, remarked Trudeau. He is suggesting that – though we have abundant natural gas, we have customers seeking LNG and we can produce it extremely efficiently – somehow it doesn’t make economic sense. He may not see a political case; there absolutely is a business case.”

The Gateway Pundit previously reported on countries stepping away from reliance on the US dollar in the last few weeks and the global economy.

Saudi Arabia enters trade alliance with China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and four Central Asian nations to step further away from reliance on the US dollar.
China and France complete first LNG gas trade using Chinese Yuan, ending reliance on the US dollar for energy trades.
China and Brazil to settle trades in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar.
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) are developing a new currency, State Duma Deputy Chairman says.
Saudi Arabia partners with China to build a Chinese oil refinery for 83.7 billion yuan ($12.2 billion).
Kenya signs deal with Saudi Arabia and UAE to buy oil with Kenyan shillings instead of US dollars.
President of Kenya tells citizens to get rid of US dollars.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations considers dropping the US dollar, euro, yen, and British pound for local currency financial settlements.
El Salvador President officially signs bill eliminating all taxes on income, property, and capital gains for technology innovations.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren launches “anti-crypto” re-election campaign.
India to settle trade in Indian rupees with certain countries instead of US dollars, Commerce Secretary says.
Chinese yuan surpasses the euro to become Brazil’s second-largest currency in foreign reserves.
US government to sell 41,500 #Bitcoin ($1.18 billion) connected to Silk Road, in four batches this year.
Hong Kong regulators to assist #crypto firms with banking in effort to become a digital asset hub.
Binance and CEO sued by US CFTC over alleged regulatory violations
US Social Security funds are projected to run out by 2033, Reuters reports.
5 major banks raided by French authorities in €100 billion fraud investigation
Former President Trump says President Biden is directly responsible for the bank failures and creating an economic catastrophe that will only get worse.
MicroStrategy purchases an additional 6,455 #Bitcoin ($150 million).
President Biden says the banking crisis is “not over yet.”
Saudi Arabia agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a dialogue partner. A China led security bloc.
We learned that the BRICS reserve currency could be potentially backed by gold and other commodities, such as rare-earth elements.
NATO to fully adopt Finland
Hungary’s Prime Minister states NATO close to decision on sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.
North Korea announced they will be sending 50,000 troops to Ukraine to fight along side with Russian troops.
Putin signed decree to conscript 147,000 troops of next 3 months.
Satellite imagery shows increased activity at main North Korean nuclear site.
Bank deposits fell 126 billion this past week. 225 billion since the banking crisis started.
Mammals in California and Oregon test positive for H5N1 bird flu.
33 tons of gold were withdrawn from JP Morgan vaults this week.
4.8 million ounces of silver sold from the COMEX this week.

Weekly Recap

1) Saudi Arabia enters trade alliance with China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and four Central Asian nations to step further away from reliance on the US dollar.

2) China and France complete first LNG gas trade using Chinese Yuan, ending reliance on the US…

— The Prepared Homestead (@ThePreparedHom1) April 1, 2023