Japanese Government Freezes Assets of 9 Hamas Operatives... "Supporting US Sanctions"

Sanctions Begin on the 31st
Hamas Raises Operating Funds Through Cryptocurrency

The Japanese government has frozen the assets of nine Hamas operatives and one company known to be involved in funding the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, which invaded Israel. This asset freeze is understood to be a measure requested by the U.S. government to prevent Hamas from laundering funds raised worldwide through cryptocurrency trading companies.

On the 31st, Kyodo News reported that the Japanese government decided at a cabinet meeting to impose sanctions freezing the assets of nine Hamas operatives and one company. The sanctions take effect immediately.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

After the cabinet meeting, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated at a press conference, "We made this decision because it is necessary to quickly cut off Hamas's funding sources," adding, "We will continue to review the list of sanctioned individuals going forward."

The nine individuals are nationals of Palestine and Jordan and have been identified as Hamas executives or operatives. The sanctioned company is a cryptocurrency trading firm based in the Gaza Strip. TV Asahi analyzed Japan’s decision as "following the U.S., which has already imposed similar sanctions."

Earlier, on the 18th (local time), the U.S. government imposed sanctions on related individuals and organizations coinciding with President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel. At that time, the U.S. Treasury Department added nine individuals and one organization based in Gaza, Sudan, Turkey, Algeria, and Qatar to the sanctions list on terrorism-related grounds.

Hamas is known to have funded its organizational operations and weapons purchases through money laundering using cryptocurrency. According to The Times of Israel, since 2021, Hamas has successfully raised $130 million (approximately 175.6 billion KRW) through cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is scheduled to visit Middle Eastern countries including Israel later this week to coordinate opinions. At the House of Councillors Budget Committee on the same day, he stated, "I want to carry out diplomatic efforts for the early resolution of the situation through communication with relevant countries." This marks the first visit to Israel by a Japanese minister since Hamas’s airstrikes on Israel.

As the chair country of the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will host a foreign ministers’ meeting in Tokyo next month, Japan appears to be taking an active stance on managing the situation.

It is also reported that Foreign Minister Kamikawa is coordinating to visit Jordan as well as Israel.

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