Japan Raises Pressure with Stronger Sanctions on Russia... Semiconductor Export Controls Introduced

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Japanese government has announced additional, more stringent sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. This comes just two days after the first set of sanctions was announced.

On the 25th, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a press conference following a video summit with the Group of Seven (G7) leaders, stating, "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an act that shakes the foundation of international law," and emphasized, "It is absolutely unacceptable."

The newly disclosed additional sanctions include export controls on general-purpose goods including semiconductors, asset freezes targeting Russian financial institutions, and suspension of visa issuance to Russian individuals and organizations.

On the 23rd, Japan announced bans on the issuance and distribution of Russian government bonds within Japan and sanctions against separatist forces in the pro-Russian regions of eastern Ukraine, but these measures were criticized for lacking effectiveness. At that time, Prime Minister Kishida said, "If the situation worsens, we will coordinate with the international community to impose additional sanctions."

Japan, which imports about 10% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) consumption from Russia, has so far taken a cautious stance on imposing sanctions on the energy sector due to concerns over supply disruptions.

Prime Minister Kishida stated, "The government and private sector combined currently have about 240 days' worth of crude oil reserves, and power and gas companies hold 2 to 3 weeks' worth of LNG stock."

He added, "At this point, the global crude oil supply has not been cut off due to Russia's invasion, and economic sanctions against Russia do not directly cause disruptions to energy supply," and said, "We will cooperate with crude oil and gas producing countries to ensure stable energy supply."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.