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Japan freezes assets of Russian financial institutions, limits exports

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BM.GE
25.02.22 10:21
403
Japan will impose additional sanctions targeting Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, joining the United States and Europe in piling pressure on Moscow.

The new package of sanctions include export controls on high-tech products such as semiconductors, a freeze on assets held by Russian financial institutions and a suspension of visa issuance for certain Russian individuals and entities.

The announcement came hours after leaders from the Group of Seven nations condemned Russia and pledged to take "severe and coordinated" economic and financial sanctions for its "completely unjustified" attack.

"It is an extremely serious situation with ramifications for the international order, not just in Europe but Asia and beyond," Kishida said during a news conference.

"Japan needs to show its resolve not to allow any change to the status quo by force," Kishida said, condemning the Russian military attack as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The sanctions are the result of close coordination with the United States and European nations, and symbolize "the strength of unity" in efforts to prevent a further escalation, Kishida said.

The latest asset freeze will target three financial entities — Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya and Russia's economic development bank VEB. The country's largest financial institution Sberbank, which is on the U.S. sanctions list, is not included.

On Wednesday, Tokyo unveiled the first set of sanctions against Russia — banning the issuance and trading of new Russian sovereign bonds in Japan — and the two breakaway regions whose independence Moscow recently recognized.

Weeks of diplomatic efforts by major powers and their threat of punitive measures failed to prevent Russia from launching a large-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a "special military operation" in the Donbas area, which includes the two separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk formally recognized as independent republics by Moscow earlier this week.

"The attack is totally unacceptable from the standpoint of our national security," Kishida said.

The Ukraine crisis has rocked financial markets, sending crude oil prices sharply higher as Russia is a major energy supplier.

It has also challenged the post-Cold War architecture, with Russia increasingly wary of the expansion eastward of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced Thursday sanctions targeting Russia's two largest financial institutions and elite individuals among others, along with export controls to limit Moscow's ability to obtain cutting-edge technology.

The European Union also agreed to slap additional sanctions on Russia covering the financial, energy and transport sectors and impose export controls.

For now, Japan has not targeted the energy sector in its latest tranche of sanctions.

"Depending on how the situation unfolds, we will consider what we should do in coordination with other G7 members," Kishida said.

A decades-old territorial dispute with Russia has been seen as a headache for Japan in determining how far it should go with sanctions. No post-war peace treaty has been signed with Moscow due to the deadlock over the territorial issue.

Kishida refrained from commenting on the prospect when asked about the potential impact of the crisis in Ukraine on peace treaty talks between Japan and Russia.

Japan has been urging its nationals still in Ukraine to leave, arranging charter flights for those wishing to do so. Neighboring Poland will assist Japan with the evacuation effort, according to the prime minister.

With surging fuel costs threatening to hurt consumer sentiment, Kishida vowed to work closely with oil-producing nations and relevant international organizations to help stabilize the global energy market and minimize the impact on the Japanese economy.

Source: JapanTimes