Russia has increased its reprisal measures against Japan with the permanent ban on several high -level government officials and business leaders, notably the Minister of Foreign Affairs Iwaya Takeshi, the current and preceding ambassador of Japan to Ukraine, and the presidents of four Japanese companies.
In a March 3 announcementThe Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “As part of the measures to respond to the so-called undergoing sanctions, official Tokyo actions against our country within the framework of the special military operation, a decision was made to definitively ban the following Japanese citizens from entering the Russian Federation.”
Russia persists in using the euphemism “special military operation” to designate its large -scale invasion of Ukraine, which began at the end of February 2022. The war in Ukraine is underway, and kyiv finds himself at the center of a geopolitical landscape changing quickly.
In June 2022, speaking during the annual dialogue of Shangri-La in Singapore, then-Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio proclaimed Japan support to Ukraine and pronounced a line that has echo Over the past three years, while Asian countries watch the European conflict take place with China is looming: “I myself have a strong sense of urgency that Ukraine today could be in East Asia.”
Tokyo joined the United States and Europe to sanction Russia in 2022 and continued to extend his sanctionsIncluding assets freezing as well as prohibitions on certain Russian imports and certain Japanese exports to Russia. Russia’s increased cooperation with North Korea has only increased Tokyo’s concerns over the past year.
NThe Prime Minister of EW, Ishiba Shigeru, reaffirmed the position of Japan with regard to Ukraine at a G-7 summit online in mid-December. In January, Tokyo approved additional sanctions.
In return, Moscow imposed counter-sanctions He is of him, including entry prohibitions on 460 Japanese.
This week, Russia has expanded these entry prohibitions to include the Minister of Foreign Affairs Iwaya; The current and previous ambassadors of Japan in Ukraine, Nakagome Masashi and Matsuda Kuninori, respectively; Main vice-president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Hara Shohei; The head of the JICA office in Ukraine, Matsunga Hideki; And the presidents of four Japanese companies: IDE Hiroshi (Ihi Corporation), Minami Shinsuke (Isuzu Motors), Toya Shunsuke (Prodrone Co.) and Sankai Yoshiyuki (Cyberdyne).
At a press conference on March 4, Iwaya answered a question about the entry ban, noting that Japan sanctions against Russia – to which the entry ban is formulated in response – “are due to the assault of Russia against Ukraine. Therefore, it is quite unacceptable to transfer responsibility to Japan, and I intend to firmly express my regret in the near future. »»
Iwaya stressed that relations with Russia are difficult at present and that the many problems between them require communication to fill.
The United States, then under the Biden administration, led Russia’s sanction effort after its invasion of Ukraine. But the new Trump administration made a dramatic subject, continuing the talks with Russia on a peace agreement while blaming Ukraine (and especially its president) for the war continues. The Trump administration would plan to raise certain American sanctions against Russia in the midst of current diplomacy. It is not clear if American partners, such as Japan or European countries, would follow suit.