MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - An official at the Japanese embassy in Russia told RIA Novosti Friday Tokyo was disappointed with Moscow’s decision to ban a number of Japanese citizens from entering the country in retaliation for Tokyo’s similar blacklist.
“These response measures will have a negative impact on the Russian-Japanese relations. Japan deplores this move,” Kotaro Otsuki, a press secretary at the mission, said to RIA Novosti. He did not reveal the identities of the sanctioned individuals.
The criticism came after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov handed over a list of Japanese nationals barred from Russia to Japan’s ambassador in Moscow, Chikahito Harada.
“Harada was given the list of Japanese citizens subject to Russian travel restrictions in response to Tokyo’s visa sanctions against a number of citizens of our country," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Japan’s NHK channel said the government was studying the Russian blacklist.
“We have been informed about Russia’s retaliatory measures. We are now looking into the details. We would like to investigate all aspects of these sanctions thoroughly,” the TV channel quoted a source in the Japanese foreign ministry as saying Friday.
On August 5, Japan unveiled a list of 40 sanctioned individuals and two Crimean companies while also banning any imports of Crimea-made goods. The move followed the European Union’s decision to tighten sanctions on Russia and its newest federal subject Crimea, which left Ukraine for Russia back in March.
