Russia vows response to Japan’s new sanctions; 'it will be serious..'

Russia on Monday vowed response to Japan's new package of sanctions, saying that it will have a “negative consequence” on Japan itself. “Moscow will take them into account and retaliate against them,” Russia’s ambassador to Tokyo Mikhail Galuzin said, according to state-affiliated Tass. "We’ve read today’s announcement about the so-called sanctions. Recently, I’ve told high-ranking Japanese officials that Russia will provide a response to these actions, and, I believe, this response will be serious," Galuzin stressed. 

"A new package of demonstrative, senseless and doomed to fail sanctions against Russia announced by the Japanese government, shows Tokyo officialdom’s desire to continue dismantling the large-scale positive accomplishments in Russian-Japanese relations, built up over the decades through the efforts of both sides," the Russian ambassador said.

Sanctions on imports of Russian gold

During his visit to the summit of the Group of Seven leaders (G7), Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed diplomatic and security concerns arising out of Russia’s military aggression. He then announced fresh sanctions on imports of Russian gold and on accounting, trust and some other financial services to Russia. Kishida iterated that he will ban an additional 70 Russian officials in trusted circle of president Vladimir Putin, as well as 90 military-related organizations.

Moscow is expected to issue an official statement on the retaliatory measures. When asked by the reporters about the impact the Japanese sanctions will incur on the Russian economy, Galuzin said that he cannot provide an assessment so soon. He noted that Tokyo has not published the exact details of the new sanctions package. Sanctions are "short-sighted and harm Japan itself, especially the business community", ambassador Galuzin posted in a statement on the Russian embassy's Facebook page. "Of course, such an increase in a hostile policy towards Russia will be taken into account by us in our future approach towards Japan and will not go unanswered," he furthermore added.

Russian ambassador stressed that “this sort of policy [Japan’s sanctions] is short-sighted and will prove to be detrimental for Tokyo, primarily its business circles, against the already difficult background in the global economy.” 

Japan had earlier banned deliveries of heavy-duty vehicles, dump trucks, bulldozers and other heavy equipment from Russia. The Western-aligned nation also halted goods exports to Russia that it said will contribute to the development of industrial infrastructure. Certain types of timber, spare parts for industrial equipment, steel tanks, steam generators, and gas generators were among the restricted products listed on the Japanese ministry's website.