Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya and 8 others banned from ENTRY into Russia

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya banned from entry into Russia

Russia said it has added nine Japanese individuals including Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to its entry ban list amid the Asian country’s sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, triggering an immediate backlash from Tokyo on Tuesday.

The indefinite ban, which Moscow said is in retaliation for the sanctions, also targets former and current ambassadors to Ukraine, Kuninori Matsuda and Masashi Nakagome, as well as the presidents of private Japanese companies that used to operate businesses in Russia.

At a press conference in Tokyo, Iwaya called the latest move announced Monday “totally unacceptable.”

Condemning Russia for “shifting the blame” to Japan, he said all of the punitive measures have been attributed to Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.

The entry ban is “truly regrettable,” Iwaya said, adding Japan will maintain interaction with Russia as the two nations, which have not signed a peace treaty due to the territorial dispute since the end of World War II in 1945, face “many matters of concern.”

Since the Ukraine conflict began in February 2022, Japan has implemented economic sanctions against Russia, such as freezing the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other government officials, in lockstep with the other Group of Seven members.

Russia has prohibited numerous Japanese lawmakers from entering the country. In 2022, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his successor Shigeru Ishiba, who took office last October, were put on the list as a Cabinet member and a House of Representatives lawmaker, respectively.

So Japan is RIGHT on placing sanctions on Russia but Russia is WRONG in doing te same to Japan ….amazing logic !!!!