Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, journalists and professors for engaging in what it called an “unprecedented anti-Russian campaign” with “unacceptable rhetoric” against Moscow.
The list includes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.
These people are banned from entering Russian territory for an indefinite period, the ministry said.
“Kishida’s administration has launched an unprecedented anti-Russian campaign, allowing unacceptable rhetoric against the Russian Federation, including slander and direct threats,” the ministry said in a statement.
“It is picked up by public figures, pundits and media representatives from Japan, who are completely biased by the West’s attitude towards our country,” he added.
Japan has joined the United States and European countries in imposing various sanctions on Russia since Moscow launched what it describes as a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24.
Japan’s cabinet last month approved additional sanctions against Russia, freezing the assets of 398 Russian citizens, including the two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the wife of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and banning vodka imports and other products.
Japan also decided to freeze the assets of 28 other Russian organizations, such as those related to military affairs, and two other lenders, Sberbank and Alfa Bank.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Japan had implemented large-scale economic and individual sanctions against Russia, adding that Tokyo’s measures were aimed at weakening its relations with Moscow and harming the economy and society. Russia’s international reputation, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
The entry ban for Japanese citizens came a day after the Kremlin announced that Putin had signed an executive order on retaliatory economic sanctions in response to “hostile actions by certain foreign states and international organizations”.
Under the decree, the Russian government has 10 days to draw up lists of individuals and foreign companies to be sanctioned, as well as to define “additional criteria” for a number of transactions that may be subject to restrictions .
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