Japan will ask the country's companies not to pay for Russian gas in rubles

The Japanese government is going to appeal to national companies with a request not to pay for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia in rubles. This was stated by the Secretary General of the Cabinet of Ministers Hirokazu Matsuno.

According to the official, it is not yet known whether contracts signed by Japanese companies are subject to the requirement to pay in rubles. “Nevertheless, in accordance with the agreements at the G7 level, we intend to ask Japanese companies not to accept such requirements,” Matsuno said (quoted by TASS).

On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that in the near future the country would switch to payments in rubles for gas supplies to "unfriendly" states, to which Russia included Japan.

Putin instructed Gazprom to amend the existing agreements. Within a week, the Central Bank and the government must determine the procedure for making ruble transactions, that is, fix how foreign buyers will sell their currency and receive rubles on the domestic market of Russia.