Japan imposes export restrictions on 80 Russian companies over Ukraine war

Japan announced fresh export restrictions on 80 Russian companies on Friday over its invasion of Ukraine, targeting its military as well as the construction and engineering sectors. Russia was hit with a wave of sanctions after it sent forces into Ukraine in February last year, but calls have grown from Kyiv and its allies for tougher action against Moscow. Among the sanctions-hit companies are Russian mobile phone operator MegaFon, the Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation, the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects in the Defense Industry, NPO Lavochkin design bureau, Kamaz truck maker, the Skolkovo Foundation and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Russian news agency TASS reported. The new Japanese sanctions include “an asset freeze of Russian individuals and groups, a ban on the export of goods to Russia’s military-related organisations, and a ban on the export of construction and engineering services to Russia,” top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. The asset freeze targets 17 individuals and 78 groups, including high-level military officials, while the 80 organisations hit with export restrictions include the Russian mobile phone operator MegaFon, according to the Japanese government. Matsuno also condemned plans to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Moscow had begun moving nukes to its territory. Matsuno said this will “further escalate the situation”. “As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings during wartime, Japan can never tolerate Russia’s threat of nuclear weapons, not to mention their use.” Recently, the U.S. and Japan imposed sanctions on hundreds of people and organizations connected to Russia’s war on Ukraine as the Group of Seven reiterated its determination to raise the costs of Moscow’s invasion. The United States had announced sanctions on more than 300 targets as Group of Seven leaders met in Japan, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented. Japan stepped up its sanctions in February, freezing assets of Russians and Russian companies and suspending visas for some. It froze the assets of some financial institutions and banned exports of items that can be used for military purposes, dual-use goods, some commodities and semiconductors. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.