Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Japan has actively supported the resistance through the provision of non-lethal defence equipment, emergency humanitarian and financial assistance and the acceptance of evacuees. Japan has also joined international sanctions through several financial measures, such as the restriction of transactions with Russia’s central bank and the exclusion of selected Russian banks from SWIFT. After the report on Russian war crimes, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Japan would also phase out Russian oil and coal imports. Japan’s support is not surprising. Russia’s ... (full story)