TOKYO, August 4 (RIA Novosti) – The Japanese sanctions against Russia, announced last week, may come into effect on Tuesday, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing a diplomatic source.
Japan's government may approve the package of sanctions during a cabinet meeting on August 5, which would bring them into effect in the second half of the same day, the agency said.
On July 28, the Japanese government released a list of new sanctions against Russia amid the Ukraine crisis. The sanctions foresee the freezing assets of people "involved in the Crimea annexation and responsible for destabilizing the situation in Ukraine."
Tokyo also plans to implement new projects in Russia in accordance with the policies of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) adopted by the European Union and impose limitations on Crimean goods.
Japan was the last G7 member to apply sanctions against Russia: in March it stopped talks with Russia about the easing of visa requirements, and denied visas to Russian officials on April 23, without making their names public.
The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the new sanctions to be an unfriendly sign. Moscow pointed out that the new sanctions brought Russia-Japan relations a few steps back and that Tokyo should realize that.
