The Japanese government said it protested Russia's announcement to impose a permanent ban on entry into the country of 13 Japanese citizens, mostly executives of well-known companies, including the automotive corporation "Toyota" (Toyota Motor Corp.), in response to the sanctions imposed by Tokyo because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Associated Press reported, as quoted by BTA.
Japanese Chief Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the ban "restricts the legal activities of Japanese companies (in Russia) and is absolutely unacceptable". The government has filed a protest against Russia, he added in a comment on yesterday's announcement by the Russian Foreign Ministry about imposing a permanent ban on entry into the country of 13 Japanese, including the director of "Toyota" Akio Toyoda, the CEO of "Rakuten Group" (Rakuten Group) Hiroshi Mikitani and Japan International Cooperation Agency Chairman Akihiko Tanaka.
No reasons were given for the selection of the individuals who were banned from entry.
Japan is working closely with the G7 to impose sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine amid growing concerns about the impact of the conflict in Asia, where China is increasingly expanding its military presence and threatening to use force to impose its control over self-governing Taiwan, notes AP.
Tokyo has already faced a number of other retaliatory measures from Russia, including the suspension of bilateral peace treaty talks since the end of World War II that had been negotiating disputed islands. Moscow also imposed entry bans on hundreds of Japanese politicians, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and some of his predecessors.