Japan has enacted law formally revoking Russia’s trade status as “most favored nation” over its invasion of Ukraine as Tokyo tightens sanctions amid revelations of Russian military atrocities against civilians
By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press
Apr 20, 2022 at 3:17 p.m
• 3 minutes reading time
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TOKYO – Japan on Wednesday enacted legislation formally revoking Russia’s trade status of “most favored nation” over its invasion of Ukraine, while Tokyo tightened sanctions amid revelations of Russian military atrocities against civilians.
Stripping Russia of trade status is Japan’s latest move against Moscow and is part of a list of sanctions announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last month, which also includes a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.
The revocation of Russia’s trade status by Japan’s parliament, coming into effect later this month, and other sanctions imposed collectively by other countries are expected to increase pressure on Russia, but the moves could also lead to reprisals from Moscow.
The trade status revocation applies to tariffs on most imports from Russia, allowing Tokyo to impose higher tariffs on such products. However, the measure does not affect imports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, or palladium, a type of rare metal that had no tariffs before Russia joined the World Trade Organization in 2012 and gained most-favoured-nation status.
It followed a decision along with the US and other members of the Group of Seven to do so.
Wednesday’s parliamentary decision also included an overhaul of a foreign exchange law to prevent the transfer of virtual currencies held by people subject to asset freezes.
Japan is taking a bigger role in the international effort against Russia over concerns about the impact of the invasion in East Asia, where China’s military has become increasingly assertive.
Japan has also frozen the assets of hundreds of Russian individuals and groups and banned new investments and trade, including the export of goods that could be used for military purposes. Japan also announced plans to phase out imports of Russian coal.
On Wednesday, the eight expelled Russian diplomats and officials from the Russian Embassy in Tokyo traveled by bus to the city’s Haneda International Airport, where they caught a Russian government plane home. Chief of Cabinet Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed the departure of the eight people and their families.
Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia. Moscow recently announced the suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that would include negotiations on Russian-held islands snatched from Japan by the former Soviet Union at the end of World War II.
Japan’s trade with Russia is relatively small but has been growing rapidly in recent years, with exports up nearly 40% and imports up almost 70% in the fiscal year ended March.