Japan to expel eight Russians, including diplomats, as Kishida announces new sanctions

In a surprise move, Japan announced Friday it will expel eight Russian diplomats and trade representatives, a significant policy change that will likely prompt a similar move from Moscow.

The Foreign Ministry made the announcement ahead of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s news conference apparently to soften how the news will be received in Moscow. During the news conference Friday evening, Kishida did not speak at length about the expulsion of the diplomats, merely saying that Japan made the decision after “comprehensive judgment.”

Kishida, however, announced a sweeping new round of sanctions, declaring that Japan will phase out imports of Russian coal, ban imports of Russian machinery, lumber and vodka, bar new investments in Russia and freeze assets held by major Russian lenders Sberbank and Alfa Bank. Japan will also freeze the assets of an additional 400 or so military personnel and lawmakers and some 20 military-related organizations, including state-run companies, Kishida said.

Compared to some Western countries, Japan had been taking a milder stance against Russia on energy-related sanctions, partly because of its dependence on imports of fuel.

But with mass killings of civilians in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities being met with international condemnation, Japan apparently felt it needed to harden its position further to be in line with its allies.

The latest measures are to hold Russia accountable for “cruel, inhumane” acts following its invasion of Ukraine, Kishida said, adding that Russia has committed “war crimes that are absolutely unforgivable.”

Earlier in the day, Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin to notify him of Tokyo’s decision to expel eight Russians working at the embassy and the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Japan. Galuzin is not among those being expelled.

Following Japan’s latest announcement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a news conference that Moscow will consider retaliatory measures. Moscow is expected to expel Japanese diplomats in kind.

Western countries including the United States, Germany and France have already expelled Russian diplomats and embassy workers, with the number totaling 325.

While a steady stream of expulsions followed Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in February, the exposure of severe human rights abuses in the wider Kyiv region prompted a further 206 expulsions since Monday alone.

The move to phase out coal imports from Russia is a rare move for resource-poor Japan. Japan imported 14.5% of its coal used for power generation and 9.3% of coal used for steel production from Russia in 2020.

In late March, a trade ministry panel began discussing measures to strengthen energy security and curb dependence on Russian fuel, including the installation of energy-conserving infrastructure at steel mills to use less coal.

Kishida’s move comes after the Group of Seven industrialized countries said in a statement on Thursday that their nations will reduce reliance on Russia for energy, which includes phasing out and banning Russian coal imports.

“We, the Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), condemn in the strongest terms the appalling atrocities by Russian armed forces in Bucha and other Ukrainian towns,” the statement said.

On Thursday, Kishida told reporters that the government plans to join the U.S. and other International Energy Agency (IEA) countries in releasing a total of 120 million barrels of oil reserves.

“We have decided to release 15 million barrels, which is five times the IEA quota,” he said.

The move places Japan second only to the U.S. – at 60 million barrels – in the amount of oil released. The government plans to use not only commercially held reserves, but oil from state-run facilities as well.

“This will be the first time Japan has released national reserves since the oil stockpiling system began in 1978,” Kishida said.

The IEA was formed in 1974, a year after the global oil shock of 1973, to help combat the effects of an oil embargo by top producers. It now requires member states to reserve enough oil to last 90 days, contributing to global reserves totalling 1.5 billion barrels.

As of late January, Japan had enough government reserves to last 146 days, and a further 90 days’ worth held in commercial facilities. The IEA last coordinated a release of reserves by its members in 2011 as a response to the Libyan civil war and the associated disruption to oil supply.

Late last year, Japan worked with other IEA countries – without the coordination of the agency – to release a small amount of government reserves to offset rising gas prices. Although Japan only imports a small fraction of its oil from Russia – 1.7% – the war in Ukraine could affect oil prices from the Middle East. Of the 2.5 million barrels Japan imported each day in 2020, oil from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar accounted for 90%.

Given the potential volatility of the global market, Japan will continue to maintain its policy of stockpiling oil.

“Stabilization of the energy market is essential,” Kishida said. “We will continue to work with oil supplying nations while proactively developing a plan for how to move forward.”

Information from Kyodo added