Tokyo has opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the start. In accordance with the commitments of the G7 countries at their summit in Hiroshima at the end of last week, Japan announced this Friday a new round of sanctions against Russia. They concern the freezing of assets of 17 Russian nationals and 78 organizations, as well as the ban on exporting goods and services to 80 Russian entities, announced government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno.
The export bans include products destined for Russian companies linked to the country’s military-industrial complex, as well as construction and engineering services. These measures come as other members of the G7 (United States, European Union, United Kingdom) have just stepped up their own sanctions against Russia, 15 months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russian nuclear threat ‘can never be tolerated’
Japan “condemns” Russia’s intention to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and calls on these two countries to “stop such actions which would aggravate tensions”, Hirokazu Matsuno said.
Moscow has begun to transfer nuclear warheads to Belarus, said Thursday Alexander Lukashenko, the president of this authoritarian state neighboring the EU and Ukraine, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian nuclear threat, not to mention the use of such weapons, “can never be tolerated”, he recalled.