Germany is preparing for the eventuality that Russia stops gas exports given it can only speculate about what the Kremlin will decide to do, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday during a trip to Tokyo, which also is his first visit to Japan since taking office.

"One has to prepare for it and, as I said, we started that before the war broke out and we know what we have to do," he said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

"It is a challenge that many European countries, including Germany, are dependent on imports of fossil resources from Russia," he said at the conference.

Noting that his government aims to end imports of Russian coal and oil this year, Scholz said that "the same will happen for gas, but that is a process that will require more time."

Asked whether he was concerned Russia might stop shipping gas to Germany, like it did this week for Poland and Bulgaria, Scholz acknowledged that "any interruption would have consequences for the economic situation."

This was also the reason why no sanctions have so far been imposed on energy supplies from Russia, he said.

During the talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida , the two heads of state agreed to strengthen the close cooperation between the two countries regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other issues.

(With input from agencies)