Core Points - The U.S. government is actively lobbying major Western countries, including India and Japan, to stop importing oil from Russia as part of sanctions against the country [1][2] - India has become the largest supplier of oil to India since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, despite U.S. pressure through tariffs [1] - Japan continues to purchase Russian Sakhalin blend crude oil, which is crucial for its energy security, and has rejected U.S. calls for high tariffs on China and India due to their oil purchases [2] Group 1 - The U.S. Treasury Secretary has communicated with Japan's Finance Minister about the need to halt Russian energy imports [1] - India's stance on Russian oil imports remains ambiguous, focusing on consumer interests amid a volatile energy market [1] - Both India and Japan are employing strategies to maintain their current energy import levels without directly confronting the U.S. [2] Group 2 - India has symbolically reduced individual batch purchases of Russian oil while maintaining overall imports [2] - Japan is using a "technical delay" strategy to continue fulfilling long-term supply contracts with Russia [2] - The International Energy Agency reports that Japan has been forced to purchase high-priced U.S. shale gas due to sanctions on Russia [2]

Group 1 - The U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bansen has urged Japan to stop importing Russian energy products during a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Kato Masanobu [4][5] - Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in 2022, Japan has agreed with G7 members to gradually halt imports of Russian crude oil, but continues to purchase Sakhalin Blend crude oil, which is crucial for Japan's energy security [4][5] - Japan's Ministry of Finance reported that from January to July this year, Japan imported approximately 599,000 barrels of crude oil from Russia, accounting for only 0.1% of total imports during the same period [4] Group 2 - The U.S. is pushing its allies to increase imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S., including participation in the yet-to-be-built Alaska LNG project, which has a total investment of about $44 billion [5] - In recent months, Japan has signed new LNG procurement agreements with several U.S. energy companies, although no substantial agreement has been reached regarding the Alaska project [5]