Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced his intention to ban Russian oil imports in principle in line with a G7 statement.

The statement says the leaders commit to end their countries' dependence on Russian energy, "including by phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil."

Only 3.6 percent of Japan's total crude imports last year came from Russia. The portion is small. But Japanese officials had seen it as an important part of their energy diversification strategy.

They had feared that an import ban shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine could have put Japan's energy security at risk.

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, or JOGMEC, says over half of the Russian imports have been coming from eastern Siberia.

The rest is from the far-eastern Russian island of Sakhalin. Japanese companies are involved in two projects there. One of them, Sakhalin-1, exports much of the region's crude oil to Japan.

Some analysts believe that price surges can be averted for now. That is because lockdowns in China to curb the spread of the coronavirus are limiting global demand for crude oil.

But if countries step up their import restrictions, crude prices could rise over the medium to long term.

The Japanese government plans to continue to urge producer countries to boost output. It also aims to invest more on development projects to maintain the diversity of its sources in a bid to secure stable energy supplies.