2024-07-24 22:47:06
The Japanese government said it protested Russia’s announcement that it was imposing a permanent entry ban on 13 Japanese nationals, mostly executives from prominent companies including Toyota Motor Corp., in response to sanctions. imposed by Tokyo because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.
Japanese Chief Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the ban “restricts the legal activities of Japanese companies (in Russia) and is absolutely unacceptable.” The government has filed a protest against Russia, he added in a comment on yesterday’s announcement by the Russian Foreign Ministry that it was imposing a permanent ban on entry into the country of 13 Japanese nationals, including Toyota director Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Rakuten Group ( Rakuten Group) Hiroshi Mikitani, as well as the chairman of the Japan International Cooperation Agency Akihiko Tanaka.
No reasons were given for the selection of those banned from entry.
Japan is working closely with the G7 to impose sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine amid growing concerns about the impact of the conflict in Asia, where China is increasingly expanding its military presence and threatening to use force to assert its control over self-governing Taiwan, AP notes.
Tokyo has already faced a number of other retaliatory measures from Russia, including the suspension of bilateral peace treaty talks since the end of World War II that negotiated disputed islands. Moscow also imposed entry bans on hundreds of Japanese politicians, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and some of his predecessors, BTA reported.