Japan to expel 8 Russians from embassy

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo

Japan has demanded that eight people including diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Tokyo leave the country, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori urged Russian Ambassador Mikhail Galuzin to do so in response to growing suspicions that Russian troops have massacred civilians in Ukraine.

The government determined that they should be declared persona non grata in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

A succession of European countries have already announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats from their nations.