Japan on Tuesday joined the United States and other allies in imposing additional sanctions on Russia, which included freezing the assets of the country’s leaders and three financial institutions.
In addition to the assets of six individuals, including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Japan will freeze the assets of the state-owned Promsviaz Bank and Vincikonum Bank, as well as the country’s central bank, reports Al-Rai daily quoting Reuters.
The government said in a statement that Japan would also ban exports to 49 Russian entities as part of the sanctions.
“We agreed on the need to impose strong sanctions on Russia,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday after an online meeting with Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden.
On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on the Russian Central Bank and other sources of wealth, dealing a severe blow to the country’s economy and further punishing Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, Kishida announced Tokyo’s intention to join international sanctions, which include imposing restrictions on transactions with the Russian Central Bank.
The value of Russia’s foreign reserves amounted to 585.3 billion dollars as of June 2021, and 5.7 percent of them in yen, according to data from the country’s central bank.