The Moscow Times: Russia Proposes Building Gas Pipeline to Japan, Report Says

Russia has proposed to Tokyo building a natural gas pipeline connecting fields in its Far East with northern Japan, a news report said Wednesday.

The construction of a gas pipeline between the two countries, which has been mooted for decades, would face many obstacles, including a dispute over islands taken by Russian forces at the end of World War II that has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a formal peace treaty.

The plan to build a pipeline between Sakhalin and the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido was presented to Japan last month by Russia, the Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported, citing diplomatic sources it did not identify.

An official in Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry involved in gas and oil denied Tokyo had received an offer from Russia, when contacted. He declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
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