Russia has banned the head of Toyota and 12 other senior Japanese business figures from entering the country, leading to a protest from Tokyo authorities on Wednesday.
The list, published by Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, includes Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda, Rakuten chief Hiroshi Mikitani, and Akihiko Tanaka, president of the government-backed Japan International Cooperation Agency.
According to the foreign ministry statement, the decision was made in response to Japan’s ongoing sanctions against Russia in connection with the special military operation, Moscow’s term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not explain the criteria for selecting individuals on the list, which notably excluded the heads of major Japanese firms like Mitsubishi, Honda, and Sony.
Japan is one of Ukraine’s Western supporters, providing financial and material resources to Kyiv while sanctioning Russian individuals and organizations.
Although Japan’s constitution prevents it from sending weapons, Tokyo loosened arms export controls in December, allowing it to sell domestically made Patriot missiles to the United States.
This move aimed to replenish U.S. inventories of air defense missile systems depleted by supplies sent to Ukraine.
Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi stated on Wednesday that “Measures announced by Russia this time will restrict fair activity by Japanese companies and are absolutely unacceptable.” He added that Tokyo had lodged a protest and emphasized that “all of our sanctions stem from Russia’s Ukraine invasion, which is a clear violation of international law.”
