JAPAN TIMES


 

Russia said Wednesday it will ban the entry of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and many high-ranking officials for an indefinite period in a fresh round of sanctions against Japan, amid rising tensions between the two countries over the crisis in Ukraine.

The entry ban, announced by Russia’s Foreign Ministry, targets 63 Japanese citizens, also including Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.

Widely seen as a retaliation for the Japanese government’s series of punitive measures against Russia since it started its attack on Ukraine in late February, the ministry accused Tokyo of launching an “unprecedented anti-Russian campaign with unacceptable rhetoric” and hurting its economy and international prestige.

Kishida rebutted Russia’s announcement, telling reporters in Rome it is “unacceptable” and that Russia is completely responsible for pushing bilateral ties to the current situation.

Japanese officials believe the ban will have no impact on the government as it has no plans to send a senior figure to Russia.

Executives of some Japanese media organizations, such as the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Nikkei business daily, and university professors were also included in the list released by the ministry.

Alongside the United States and European countries, Japan has implemented a number of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including freezing the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subordinates.

Russia has already barred a number of Western leaders from entering the country, including U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in retaliation against sanctions imposed by their nations.

After revelations of alleged civilian massacres were uncovered in cities near Kyiv in early April, Kishida used the term “war crime” to describe Russia’s actions for the first time.

“The killings of innocent civilians are war crimes. I’ve been in deep shock,” Kishida said.

“The aggression and war crimes should never be tolerated,” he said.
The alleged war crimes also prompted Tokyo to expel several Russian diplomats, a move that was later met in kind by Moscow.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also led Japan to take a tougher stance on a territorial dispute over four isles off Hokkaido, with Tokyo in a foreign policy report saying that the islands are “illegally occupied.”

The row over the isles, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, has prevented the two countries from formally signing a post-World War II peace treaty.

After Japan joined the West’s efforts to squeeze Russia’s economy, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in March that it would suspend negotiations for a postwar peace treaty with Tokyo.

The Russian ministry also said it would halt a visa-free program that allowed former Japanese residents to periodically visit the Moscow-controlled, Japan-claimed islands, while indicating it would withdraw from joint economic activities on the disputed islands.

“As negotiations over the Northern Territories have been suspended, it is not possible for Japan to take a more conciliatory attitude toward Russia,” an official at Japan’s Foreign Ministry said.

Japan’s parliament last month gave the green light to strip Russia of “most favored nation” trade status, causing it to lose benefits such as low tariffs.