Japan imposes additional sanctions on Russia and condemns deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus
Japan will apply additional sanctions to Russia after the G7 summit it hosted last week agreed to step up measures to punish Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Japanese prime minister's chief of staff Hirokazu Matsuno announced, Hotnews.ro reports.
Matsuno also condemned Thursday's announcement of Russia's deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying it will further intensify the circumstances created by the invasion of Ukraine.
"As the only country that suffered atomic bombing during the war, Japan never accepts Russia's nuclear threat, let alone its use," Matsuno told a regular news conference.
G7 leaders last week signalled their determination to support Ukraine with additional military aid and sanctions against Russia at their annual summit in the world's first atomic bombed city, Hiroshima.
In a coordinated action with the G7, Japan will freeze the assets of 78 groups and 17 individuals, including Russian military officers, and ban exports to 80 Russian entities, such as military-affiliated research labs, according to a statement released Friday by the Foreign Ministry.
Japan will also ban the supply of construction and engineering services to Russia, with more details on the measure to be announced at a later date, reads a statement made by the Trade Ministry in Tokyo.
