Presidential candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Taro Kono, the minister in charge of vaccinations, attends a debate organized by the Liberal Democratic Party, Youth Bureau, Women’s Bureau at the party headquarters, in Tokyo, Japan , September 20, 2021. Philip Fong/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) – Japan’s sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine are necessary, even if they cut energy supplies, as Tokyo may one day need allies to counter China in East Asia, said Taro Kono, a former defense chief and former foreign minister.

“We have to tell the Japanese people that to protect ourselves, we also have to help others,” Kono told Reuters. “If there are attacks anywhere on this planet, we must stop them,” he added.

Japan sees neighboring China as its biggest national security threat, followed by North Korea and Russia. Some officials in Tokyo, including Kono, fear that Russia’s attack on Ukraine will encourage Beijing to act against Taiwan as well.

Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province, is only about 100 km (62 miles) from the nearest Japanese island. Its capture by Beijing would also place Chinese forces close to maritime trade routes that support the Japanese economy.

“China’s military spending is four times our national defense budget. Japan alone could not fight off Chinese forces if they invaded Japan,” said Kono, who ran last year against Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a race for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party. .

Kono remains influential within the ruling party and a notable social media presence with 2.4 million Twitter followers, more than any other Japanese politician.

Kishida appears to have public support for sanctions against Russia, although many people want the government to impose additional measures, according to an opinion poll released Monday by public broadcaster NHK. Of 1,223 people polled, 42% agreed with the sanction and 40% wanted more.

Kishida said on Wednesday he planned to revoke Russia’s most favored nation trading status and extend financial sanctions to the country’s elite. Read more

Tougher sanctions on Russia, which describes its attack on Ukraine as a “special operation”, could mean a halt to Russian imports of two energy projects on the Russian island of Sakhalin, north of Japan, which represent around 8% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and about 4% of its oil.

In parliament on Thursday, Kishida said Japan needed to weigh its energy security when considering stopping such imports.

Japan may find it difficult to replace Russian LNG, as it has agreed to divert further gas shipments to Europe to help it deal with any interruptions in Russian gas supplies.

“If we decide to ban the import (of Russian gas), we will really need to conserve energy like right after Fukushima,” Kono said, referring to the energy crisis that swept the country after the disaster. Fukushima nuclear force forced him to shut down his reactors.

Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Michael Perry

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