Japanese Companies Appear To Be “In No Rush” To Exit Operations In Russia

All of a sudden, it seems not everybody allied with the West is in a rush to leave Russia. Perhaps due to the ineffectiveness of sanctions, a reliance on Russia’s productive capacity, or just plain apathy, it seems that Japanese companies are in no hurry to exit the country.

Driven by “fears of being unable to return and having to find new suppliers”, RT wrote this week, citing the Japan Times, that no Japanese companies have announced a suspension or cessation of operations in Russia. 

Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the article notes that about 40% of 168 listed Japanese companies in the country have announced intentions to leave. Only 5 of those names, however, have committed to completely withdrawing from the market altogether. The rest have halted some form of operations, the report says. 

Japanese companies are acting (or not acting, in this case) based on “fears of losing their niche in what they consider an important emerging market and potential difficulties in finding alternative suppliers,” RT wrote. 

Among the projects Japan has in Russia are Mitsui and Mitsubishi’s stake in the Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project Sakhalin-2, as well as automakers like Toyota having a presence in the country. While Toyota has suspended activities in Russia, they have yet to close their business there, the report notes. 

Finally, a Yale survey revealed that while the UK, Canada and the U.S. have seen 46%, 33% and 27% of their companies exit operations from Russia, Japan has only seen about 5% of its companies leave.