SINGAPORE — Japan endorsed a fresh round of sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, prohibiting 21 organizations linked to the defense industry, as well as to the export of chemical weapons-related goods, according to a declaration by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Monday, September 26.
The recently prohibited organizations include the Moselektronproyekt company, the Etalon research and production association, the Energia company, and the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute’s Alikhanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics.
These new sanctions will be effective October 3.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi had announced on September 21 that Japan would enact further economic sanctions on Russia for its continued actions in Ukraine.
The Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers convened at a foreign ministers meeting in New York last week to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Ukraine crisis.
The United States and European countries are deliberating further measures in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for military mobilization.
The G7 members affirmed that they would continue to collaborate to help Ukraine, as well as to address the food crisis and energy security problems resulting from the conflict. Members also broached China’s growing hegemonic behavior in the Indo-Pacific region, and exchanged views on the United Nations reform suggested by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Hayashi revealed that next year’s foreign ministerial meeting would be held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on April 16-18, before the G7 Hiroshima summit.
The meeting on September 21 was the first in-person gathering of G7 foreign ministers since May. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly were among the participants.
Since March, Japan has unveiled a host of sanctions against Russia, such as freezing the assets of President Putin and his family members and removing Moscow from the international payment network called SWIFT, freezing central bank assets.
The country also froze assets of Russian officials, oligarchs, banks, and other institutions, in line with the sanctions imposed by other G7 economies. Additionally, it prohibited high-tech exports to Russia.
According to the website of Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Japan imposed financial sanctions like investment limitations, and restricted exports and access to international financial markets and payments.
Examples of restricted exports include machine tools, carbon fibers, and high-performance semiconductors. General-purpose goods that could be used to bolster the Russian and Belarussian military, such as semiconductors, computers, and telecommunications equipment, have been classified under the list of banned exports to Russia.
Even exports of luxury goods like alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, clothing and footwear, ceramic products, cars and motorcycles, laptop computers, and watches have been banned.
The Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act form the basis of these Japanese-imposed sanctions, as Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry jointly declared.
In retaliation, the Kremlin has unveiled its own sanctions on Japan, including banning Japanese officials like Kishida himself from entering Russia.
Kishida also indicated that Japan would stop issuing visas to people who acknowledge the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two separatist-held, pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine. These people would also have their assets frozen.
Moreover, Kishida warned that Japan will prohibit imports and exports to and from Donetsk and Luhansk, and prohibit the issuance and circulation of Russian bonds in Japan.
Previously, Kishida had urged Russia to address the Ukraine situation via diplomatic means instead of war.
The prime minister said that Japan would dispense a record amount of oil reserves to help curtail increasing prices following the war in Ukraine. In effect, the East Asian country would release 15 million barrels of oil from state and private reserves, following directions from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
IEA states would leverage on 60 million barrels of oil from storage, the director of the group announced, in addition to a 180-million-barrel release hitherto declared by Washington.
On September 26, Kishida received a courtesy call from U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Japan to attend the state funeral of slain ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Kishida and Harris exchanged views on regional issues, such as the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Chinese bellicosity, and North Korea. Both sides agreed to bolster the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and to contribute to the Indo-Pacific region. Both leaders expressed grave worries about North Korea’s nuclear activities, such as the hermit nation’s ballistic missile launch on September 25.
Harris expressed her condolences on the passing of Abe, and affirmed that Abe was a remarkable international leader and staunch proponent of the Japan-U.S. Alliance. Both Kishida and Harris pledged to increase efforts to realize a “free and open Indo-Pacific” to sustain Abe’s legacy.
Abe was praised for his efforts in implementing the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Japan, the United States, Australia, and India — colloquially referred to as the “Quad.”
“The Vice President underscored that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and [Harris and Kishida] discussed efforts to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the White House announced in a statement.
The Japanese and American leaders also denounced the recent Chinese communist aggression against Taiwan.
In a snub to China, Harris maintained the United States’ “ironclad commitment” to maintaining Japan’s national defense and curbing “China’s aggressive and irresponsible provocations in the Taiwan Strait.”
