Japan announces additional sanctions on Russia

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Japan announced additional sanctions on Russia on Friday for annexing four regions of Ukraine.

In response to the situation in Ukraine, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference that “a decision was made to take measures to freeze assets of Russia and regional stakeholders directly involved in annexation in some areas in the eastern and southern region of Ukraine.”

“Japan cannot overlook unilateral attempt to change status quo by force and take sufficient two-pillar based actions of imposing strong sanctions against Russia and supporting Ukraine by coordinating with the international community including G7 nations,” said Hayashi.

Japan's move to freeze Moscow's assets comes after Russia annexed four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – following a referendum in these areas that was widely condemned by the international community.

The 193-member UN General Assembly will discuss the annexation on Oct. 10.

Tokyo's latest sanctions follow a ban on high-tech equipment exports to Russia in May of this year.

Japan has joined the US, UK, and other allies in punishing Moscow for the Ukraine war. Hundreds of Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, besides companies and organizations, have been sanctioned by Japan.

In response, Russia sanctioned 63 Japanese senior officials, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Russia is currently the world’s most sanctioned country since its war on Ukraine in February of this year.

According to the UN rights body, from Feb. 24 to Oct. 2, Ukraine suffered 15,246 civilian casualties, including 6,114 deaths and 9,132 injuries.