On 24 February 2022 Japan's Foreign Minister announced sanctions following Russia's recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic". Japan suspended visa issuance to and froze assets in Japan of individuals of the two "Republics", prohibited imports from and exports to the two regions, and prohibited the issuance of and transactions in new Russian sovereign debt in primary and secondary markets. The relevant ministries were to proceed with the domestic procedures needed to implement them.

Analyst notesShow

Mechanism

The MOFA statement of 24 February 2022 sets out the measures as a package: visa suspension and asset freezes for DNR/LNR individuals, a two-way trade prohibition (imports from and exports to the DNR and LNR), and a ban on new Russian sovereign debt issuance and trading. Legal implementation ran through the relevant ministries' domestic procedures; the instruments themselves were not reviewed here, and the effective date is taken from the announcement.

GTA tags agricultural sectors (cereals, vegetables, fruits and nuts) for the import limb; the MOFA statement does not itemise products.

Downstream implications

Direct Japan trade with the two regions was negligible; the measure is the first Japanese step of the February 2022 Russia sanctions sequence, alongside the US, EU and Swiss measures already in the register.

Open questions

Implementing METI/MOF notices and their exact entry-into-force dates are not cited.

Sources

Primary: MOFA statement by Foreign Minister Hayashi — sanction measures following Russia's recognition of the "DNR" and "LNR"

Secondary: Global Trade Alert state act 62256 · Global Trade Alert intervention 101454

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Mechanism

GTA tags agricultural sectors (cereals, vegetables, fruits and nuts) for the import limb; the MOFA statement does not itemise products.