Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other world leaders adopted a set of additional sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine at an online G7 summit on Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the invasion.
The leaders renewed their commitment to “intensifying our diplomatic, financial and military support for Ukraine, to increasing the costs to Russia and those supporting its war effort,” and countering the negative impact on the rest of the world, especially the most vulnerable people, they said in a statement, according to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The G7 countries also affirmed their coordinated action to “further counter Russia’s capacity to wage its illegal aggression” and pledged to prevent Russia from obtaining military equipment and technology.
Photo: AFP / Japan`s Cabinet Public Relations Office / Kyodo
They also called on other countries to stop providing military support to Russia.
Kishida, as this year’s G7 president, also announced that Japan would impose additional sanctions on Russia, including freezing the assets of about 120 individuals and organizations, and banning the export of drones and other materials that can be used for military purposes.
“In order to absolutely not allow one-sided changes to the status quo, we must firmly carry out support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia to regain peace and international order based on the rule of law,” Kishida told a news conference before hosting a teleconference with other G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“G7 serves the core of the international commitment to do so,” he said.
At the summit, Kishida planned to discuss the latest developments in the war and how to support Ukraine’s recovery and affirm G7 solidarity for the war-torn country.
Kishida noted growing concern about China’s potential transfer of lethal weapons to Russia, and said that Japan would cooperate with its G7 peers and other countries to send a “clear message” to third countries to stop supplying weapons to Russia.
Kishida also expressed “strong concern” about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement on Tuesday that he was suspending Moscow’s participation in an arms control treaty between Russia and the US.
“Russia’s nuclear threat is unacceptable, and use of nuclear weapons should never happen,” Kishida, whose electoral constituency is Hiroshima, said at the news conference. “As the world’s only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, the 77-year history of nonnuclear weapons use should not be tarnished by Russia.”
As the world observed the one-year anniversary of the war, about 1,000 people protested in Tokyo’s Hibiya Park on Friday, holding banners saying: “Russia, stop invading Ukraine.”
Outside of the United Nations University in Tokyo, demonstrators held a candlelight vigil.
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