Japan has agreed to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam, a country rich in mineral resources, on mineral sourcing. Tokyo is also accelerating its efforts to secure resources, importing Russian crude oil for the first time since the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to local media including the Asahi Shimbun on the 3rd, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who visited Vietnam, met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh the previous day and said, "We place great importance on our relationship with Vietnam, which continues to achieve strong growth as a critical hub in the supply chain," adding, "We want to join forces." In particular, she expressed her intention to cooperate on Vietnam's crude oil procurement, which has been hit by difficulties stemming from the Middle East situation. Specifically, a plan is under review in which a Japanese government agency would provide guarantees for crude oil procurement by Vietnamese refineries. This is the first project under the "Asia Energy and Resource Supply Chain Strengthening Partnership," which Takaichi proposed at an online meeting last month when she announced Japan's intention to provide $10 billion (approximately 14.7 trillion won) in financial support to Southeast Asian countries. The two sides also adopted a joint document confirming stronger cooperation in areas such as critical minerals and semiconductors.
Takaichi left Vietnam on the 3rd and is scheduled to hold a summit with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Australia on the 4th.
Meanwhile, Japanese oil refiner Taiyo Oil has secured Russian crude oil for the first time since the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Kyodo News reported. The crude, produced through the "Sakhalin-2 Project," a Far East oil and natural gas development project in Russia, was contracted on a spot (discretionary contract) basis and departed Sakhalin aboard a tanker in late last month.
The Sakhalin-2 Project is a venture led by Russian state-run energy company Gazprom that produces liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil from sites including the Lunskoye gas field off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Oblast in the Far East. Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui & Co. also hold stakes in the project. Kyodo News reported that "the import of Russian crude oil is part of efforts to diversify crude oil sourcing."
