Japan plans to send a secret economic delegation directly to Russia later this month. Sources familiar with the plan confirmed the controversial move on Friday. The Japanese government wants to lay the groundwork for expanded business activity right now so companies can jump in quickly after the war in Ukraine finally ends. The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi officially proposed a 2-day visit starting on May 26 for high-ranking representatives from major Japanese corporations.
The guest list for this secret trip includes some heavy hitters from the Japanese corporate world. Top executives from the massive trading house Mitsui & Company and the shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines currently plan to attend. Sources also noted that another massive trading house, Mitsubishi Corporation, will likely join the delegation. When they arrive in Moscow, these powerful Japanese executives expect to hold private meetings with senior officials from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
This planned trip sparked a very cautious response from several Japanese companies. Many corporate leaders feel extremely nervous about traveling to Moscow while the Russian invasion of Ukraine drags into its 5th deadly year. They fear massive public backlash from Western nations, which continue to punish Russia with severe economic sanctions. However, the Japanese government clearly sees a desperate need to secure its own future energy supply chains.
Clear signs of renewed engagement between Tokyo and Moscow have already started to emerge over the last few weeks. Earlier this month, Japan completely shocked the global market when it imported crude oil from Russia for the very first time in years. Japan felt compelled to make this desperate purchase because of a separate conflict in the Middle East.
The ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which started in late February, caused massive chaos on the water. The fighting effectively shut down commercial shipping traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz. Because Japan relies heavily on Middle Eastern crude oil to power its massive cities and factories, the blocked strait instantly exposed a terrifying vulnerability in Japan’s energy network. Without oil from the Middle East, Japan had absolutely no choice but to buy energy from Russia to keep its economy running.
The Japanese government tried very hard to keep this new relationship with Russia a total secret. Back in early April, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stood before reporters and flatly dismissed media reports about a planned business delegation to Russia. They lied to the press to avoid angering their powerful American allies.
This current push for Russian business revives an old strategy. Back in 2016, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe personally proposed a massive economic cooperation plan to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those early discussions quickly advanced into concrete projects covering lucrative areas like deep-water energy development and massive agricultural investments. However, the Japanese government effectively froze all those talks the second Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine.
The political connection here remains very strong. The late Shinzo Abe served as the direct political mentor to current Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. During his tenure, which ended in 2020, Abe aggressively pursued open dialogue with Putin. The two leaders actually met face-to-face exactly 27 times. Abe pushed these meetings to resolve a bitter, decades-old territorial dispute between the two nations, but he never achieved a real breakthrough.
The upcoming business trip represents a massive reversal of recent corporate trends. When the war in Ukraine started, major Japanese firms rushed to exit the Russian market to protect their global reputations. Heavyweight automotive giants like Toyota Motor Corporation and Nissan Motor Company either withdrew their capital or severely scaled back their factory operations in Russia. Now, those same types of companies quietly plan to return.
Diplomatic backchannels have also recently been opened to test the waters. In a related move, Japanese lawmaker Muneo Suzuki flew to Moscow earlier this month. Suzuki holds deep, longstanding ties with Russian officials. During his trip, he held a private meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. After the meeting, Suzuki told reporters that Rudenko promised him that Russia remains completely open to holding formal foreign ministerial talks with Japan if the government in Tokyo actually desires them.
