© . A man on a bicycle rides past containers at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Kantaro Komiya and Leika Kihara TOKYO () – Japan will revoke Russia’s most-favoured-nation trade status as part of further sanctions against Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday. Tokyo will also step up sanctions by expanding the scope of the asset freeze against Russian elites and banning the import of certain products from the country, Kishida said. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a historic atrocity,” Kishida said at a news conference. “We are taking the necessary steps, including sanctions to put more pressure on Russia.” The measures are in line with an announcement Friday by the United States and its allies to increase economic pressure on Russia, amounting to a fourth wave of sanctions against the country during the February 24 invasion. Russia calls its action in Ukraine a “special operation” to disarm and “denazify” its neighbor. Japan will also coordinate with other Group of Seven countries to prevent Russia from borrowing from the International Monetary Fund and other global lenders, Kishida said. He did not clarify for which goods tariffs will be increased by the withdrawal of the most favored status. But Mainichi newspaper reported that the move would lead to higher tariffs on certain seafood products, such as sea urchins and crab imported from Russia. According to government data, in 2021 Russia accounted for 81% of sea urchins and 47.6% of crabs imported by Japan. Japan has already imposed sanctions on Russian exports of chips and high-tech equipment, as well as dozens of Russian and Belarusian officials, businessmen and banks by freezing their assets. Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data on this website is not necessarily real-time or accurate. All CFDs (Stocks, Indices, Futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and therefore prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price meaning prices are indicative and not suitable for trading purposes . Therefore, Fusion Media does not bear any responsibility for any trading losses that you may incur as a result of using this data. Fusion Media or anyone associated with Fusion Media accepts no liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any information, including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals on this website. Be fully informed about the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest forms of investment possible.
