ANNOUNCEMENT 01 Mar 2022
March 1st, 2022 - The Japanese government announced it was enacting a second tranche of sanction measures against entities relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
NUMBER OF INTERVENTIONS
3
SOURCE
Japan Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry, March 1st, 2022. (ウクライナ情勢に関する外国為替及び外国貿易法に基づく措置を実施します)
https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2021/03/20220301005/20220301005.html
Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 1st, 2022. (ウクライナ情勢に関する外国為替及び外国貿易法に基づく措置について)
https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/press/release/press4_009282.html
On March 1st, 2022, the Japanese government announced a second round of economic sanctions on Russian individuals and organisations, including Vladimir Putin and the Russian Central Bank, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Six individuals, three state banks and 49 firms/groups were listed as targets for the measures. All of them are Russian (previous sanctions had included some Russian-aligned Ukrainian entities). For the full list, please refer to the attachments to official the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announcement in the sources section.
Firstly, the announcement stated that an 'asset freeze' was being implemented. It applied with immediate effect (i.e. from 1st March, 2022) to all those in the aforementioned list, except two of the three banks. The later implementation of the sanction policies on these two banks is recorded in a separate intervention pertaining to this state act.
Secondly, there was an immediate payment restriction to the persons and entities contained on the list - all payments to these individuals would 'require approval'. This is effectively a ban, and was reported as such in press releases from the Japanese government.
A further provision in the announcement prohibited receipt of payments from 49 named firms in Russia, all of which considered to be contributors to Russia's 'military capabilities'. Please refer to the second attachment to the MOFA announcement for a full list of the firms affected.
The MOFA announcement stated that the measures were part of international 'steps to maintain international peace and security and to contribute to international efforts for international peace'. A first round of sanctions had been implemented a few days prior to the one in question - please refer to the related state act for more.
AFFECTED SECTORS
AFFECTED PRODUCTS
The Japanese government announced on March 1st, 2022, that it was implementing an export ban on Russian entities in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announcement stated that the ban was to become effective immediately.
The announcement of the ban presented it as a two-pronged export ban. According to GTA research guidelines, the practical effect of the policy in question is a single blanket export ban on goods to Russia. The two prongs of the ban are listed below for transparency and clarity.
The first part of the export ban applied to 49 delineated organisations, including the Ministry of Defence, the FSB and several firms deemed to be of military importance, for example MiG (makers of military fighter jets), Sukhoi (makers of various military planes), etc. For the full list, please refer to the second attachment of the MOFA announcement.
The second part of the ban applied to, 'export of general-purpose goods that are considered to contribute to strengthening the military capabilities of the Russian Federation'. With no further details, this is considered a blanket export ban.