◆Chen Yan
For the special military operations launched by Russia, the G7 (G7) adopted the countermeasures of providing weapons to Ukrainian to economically sanction Russia. As the only G7 country in Asia, Japan acted very quickly in clothing, catering, automobiles and finance when it imposed economic sanctions on Russia. However, when it encountered energy problems, it made people feel that the mouths were filled with things, unclear language, and indecisive.
Kisha Cabinet is actually quite difficult in relations with Russia. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Putin 27 times during his tenure. The good relationship between Japan and Russia can be seen from the 2+2 talks between the foreign ministers and defense ministers of the two countries. After reading the Japanese media reports, I feel that Putin obeyed Abe . If he was moved, he should give Abe several small islands in South Kuril Islands. It’s a pity that Abe is a little unsatisfied. After working for 8 years, he suddenly surrendered again because of stomachache. In 2022, a victim of a cult organization was dissatisfied with the fact that the Abe family supported the cult for many years and fired two shots to assassinate Abe. Since then, Japan-Russia relations have lacked key figures like Abe.
Where will the Sakhalin oil and gas field project invested by Japan go? Judging from the cooperation project of Gazprom and five European companies, the possibility of Sakhalin II repeating the same mistake is extremely high, and the result of Germany and Japan sanctions on Russia should be roughly the same. Kishida hopes to sanction the Russian economy while getting energy benefits from Russia, which is likely to be a waste of money.
Nord Stream 2
Nord Stream 2 can transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year. Gas Company is the exclusive shareholder of Nord Stream Line 2 AG, responsible for implementing the 9.5 billion euro project and bearing half of the cost.
On October 4, 2021, Russia began to inject natural gas into the Nord Stream No. 2 natural gas pipeline. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, due to the imposition of sanctions on Russia by Germany and other countries, the operator of Nord Stream 2 had large-scale payment difficulties, fired all 106 employees and ended their business. On March 4, 2022, according to "Russia Today", Nord Stream 2 Natural Gas Pipeline Company filed for bankruptcy.
However, according to Japanese reports in recent months, Nord Stream 2 has not completely stopped transporting natural gas to Germany and other countries. But it was not going well. Often, because the machinery provided by Europe failed, the relevant companies did not repair the faulty machines for the purpose of sanctioning Russia, thus reducing the supply of natural gas. There are also reasons such as mechanical maintenance and other reasons that natural gas needs to be stopped.
The period when natural gas is most needed should be the winter months later. Many German residents have begun to stockpile coal and wood for winter, and chemical companies will be unable to enter production due to insufficient natural gas raw materials.
The economic sanctions imposed on Russia by Germany and other countries actually caused a drop in the bowl of food. As for how to eat without a bowl, maybe I didn’t think much about it. In the future, wind and solar energy will be used as an alternative to fossil energy. But how should we live in front of us? I thought that we could survive even if we drank the politically correct northwest wind. The lack of energy, the inflation and economic uncertainty brought about by the lack of energy, will lead to huge economic recessions in European countries such as Germany. Hope to intensify Russia and force Russia to launch a war against Ukraine. The G7 countries jointly provide weapons and economic support for Ukraine, and defeat Russia by proxy war is not easy to achieve. But in terms of energy, Europe will not be able to get rid of its dependence on Russia in a short period of time.
The approximate ending of Sakhalin 2
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the participants of Sakhalin 2's project, Shell, the British company, immediately announced its withdrawal from the project. It is said that in a country around Japan, its oil companies, petrochemical companies and offshore oil companies immediately formed a acquisition consortium, preparing to buy the pot in the hands of Shell at the price of buying scrap iron.
Kishida Cabinet also hopes to achieve the ability to throw a bowl and eat. Japan has always been the most determined country to impose sanctions on Russia, and Japan is not ready to abandon the Sakhalin project.About 8% of Japan's natural gas demand depends on Sakhalin. It is not easy to leave here and find new suppliers. After entering August, the Ministry of Economic and Industrial Development and Industry of Japan repeatedly sought investors of the Sakhalin project, Mitsui Products and Mitsubishi Commercial , and encouraged them to continue to participate in related projects.
However, judging from the operation of Beixi 2, even if Japan does not give up Sahalin 2, the final result will be roughly the same as Beixi: when Japan needs energy the most, the machine fails and incomplete procedures will affect the export of natural gas to Japan.
In Russia's view, Japan and Germany cannot only allow them to throw bowls to eat. Russia also has methods to express dissatisfaction with the G7. In the end, what the world got was an economic recession, and the lives of ordinary citizens such as Japan and Germany were severely affected. (The author is an adjunct professor at Changzhou Institute of Technology )
