Russia a safe option for energy-starved Japan - Yahoo! News: "TOKYO (AFP) - Despite rocky political relations, Japan needs Russia for gas and oil imports as the energy-hungry Asian power tries to ease its dependence on the volatile Middle East, analysts say.
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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, on a visit to Tokyo that wrapped up late Wednesday, pledged his country would be a 'stable' partner.
His visit came after the Kremlin unnerved Japanese and Western investors by taking majority control of the massive Sakhalin-2 gas project, in which two Japanese companies are shareholders.
'Of course you have to be cautious with Russia, but compared with
Iran, Russia is far safer as an energy supplier,' said Koji Nakatsu, a professor at Osaka University of Commerce who wrote a book on the Kremlin's energy policy.
Japan signed a two-billion-dollar deal in 2004 to develop Iran's largest onshore oil field at Azadegan, irritating its close ally the United States.
But Tokyo slashed its stake from 75 to 10 percent last year as the Iranian nuclear crisis intensified and sanctions loomed on the Islamic republic.
Asia's largest economy imports nearly all of its oil from the Middle East and has long sought to diversify. Last week Japan signed a 15-year, 3.5 billion-dollar oil deal with Venezuela.
Japan has increasingly turned to liquefie"
Sunday, March 04, 2007
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