Japan to slap a new package of sanctions on Russia

Japan intends to gradually reduce coal imports from Russia and then ban it, thus reducing dependence on energy resources from Russia over the situation around Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference in Tokyo, Report informs via TASS.

"We will ban coal imports from Russia. By urgently providing alternatives and gradually reducing imports, we will reduce our dependence on Russia in the energy sector," he said.

Japan will introduce a ban on the import of equipment and timber from Russia.

"Next week we will introduce a ban on the import of machinery, vodka and certain types of wood from Russia," Kishida said.

Japan is expanding sanctions against Russian banks, adding Sberbank and Alfa-Bank to the list.

"We have decided to freeze the assets of the Russian banks Sberbank and Alfa-Bank," the prime minister said.

Japan will introduce additional sanctions against nearly 400 Russians, including deputies, and 20 organizations from the Russian Federation.

"We are introducing a ban on new investments in Russia," he said. According to Kishida, these measures will be applied in cooperation with the G7 nations.