Japan Expands Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine Invasion

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:50 JST, February 28, 2023

Fresh sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine were approved during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

An additional 122 individuals and organizations have been designated as subject to asset freezes. In addition, 21 organizations including the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company that has sent many fighters to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, have been added to a list of entities subject to an export ban.

The 48 individuals and 74 organizations added to the asset freeze list included Russia’s undersecretary of defense, according to the government announcement. They also included those connected to the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine that Russia unilaterally annexed.

Drone-related items were newly added to the list of products banned from being exported to Russia. The existing ban on exporting machine tools, high-performance semiconductors and luxury cars, which was enforced in line with Western nations, will remain in place.

The number of organizations subject to the export ban has also been expanded to include Russian government-related research institutes in addition to Wagner Group. The U.S. government has designated Wagner Group as a “transnational criminal organization” and has demanded that companies in other countries refrain from doing business with it.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had announced his intention to impose new sanctions on Russia at a G7 summit teleconference held on Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.