Japan tightens sanctions against Russia with G7

TOKYO, May 26 (Reuters) – Japan will impose additional sanctions on Russia after the Group of Seven (G7) summit the country hosted last week agreed to step up measures to punish the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Friday.

Matsuno, a Tokyo government spokesman, also on Thursday condemned Russia’s decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying it would further escalate situations surrounding the invasion of Ukraine.

“As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings in wartime, Japan never accepts Russia’s nuclear threat, let alone its use,” Matsuno said at a regular press conference.

G7 leaders, including the United States, Britain, Germany and France, showed their determination to support Ukraine with additional military aid and sanctions against Russia last week at the summit. held in the world’s first city to be bombed by the atomic bomb, Hiroshima.

In a coordinated action with the G7, Japan will freeze the assets of 78 groups and 17 individuals, including military officers in Russia, and ban exports to 80 Russian entities such as military-affiliated research labs, according to a Foreign Ministry statement on Friday.

Japan will also ban providing construction and engineering services to Russia, although details of the measure will be announced at a later date, according to a Commerce Ministry statement.

Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Michael Perry

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