MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Tokyo followed the West in introducing sanctions against Moscow over the Ukrainian crisis by restricting the operations of several Russian banks and suspending work on several bilateral agreements.
“[Russia is] a huge county with a big potential for economic growth, and many Japanese businesses see Russia as a prospective market,” Nakai Takafumi, the head of the Japanese Association for Trade with Russia & New Independent States (ROTOBO), said.
According to Takafumi, Tokyo’s anti-Russia sanctions do not have a significant “real” effect, but instead influence Japanese businesses psychologically, dissuading them from making investments in Russian projects.
Japan wants to improve economic relations with Russia, specifically in the areas of pharmaceuticals, agriculture, the food industry and infrastructure, the official said.
Takafumi called on Moscow and Tokyo to improve their relations, saying that it would be “extremely important” for the countries’ business communities.
