‘Close ally’ Japan set to sanction Indian firms for trade ties with Russia

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, June 15

Japan, a close Indian ally in business and security spheres, is all set to slap sanctions on companies from India as well as those from China, the UAE and Uzbekistan for allegedly circumventing anti-Russia sanctions.

Toeing us line

• Japan opts to toe the position maintained by America on Ukraine by penalising companies from India, China, UAE and Uzbekistan
• Important to take firm stance against bid to circumvent sanctions against Russia, a top Japanese official said
• Sanctions not targeted at specific countries, but at companies trying to evade sanctions, he said

A member of the four-country Quad alliance along with India, Japan has opted to hew closer to the American position on Ukraine by penalising companies from the four countries that have done business with Russia. In case of the Israeli assault on Gaza too, it has been sanctioning activists of Hamas and Hezbollah.

“At the recent G-7 summit, we have announced that we are considering a new package of sanctions that will include companies from third countries. We are looking at measures against companies from China, India, the UAE and Uzbekistan,” said the Chief Secretary of the Japanese government, Yoshimasa Hayashi, as per media reports.

According to Hayashi, the Japanese government is currently coordinating the details of the new sanctions package against the Russian Federation and will release the details soon. Companies from Kazakhstan could also be added to the list being prepared by the Japanese government. Like India, Japan has also heavily invested in Kazakhstan, especially in uranium mining.

Interestingly, the decision to impose sanctions on companies from the four countries was communicated by Japan to other G7 members at their summit in Italy where PM Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

“Regarding sanctions, our country considers it important to take a firm stance against attempts to avoid or circumvent sanctions against Russia. We have announced that we are considering a package that includes sanctions against Chinese and Indian companies. These sanctions are not targeted at specific countries, but at all companies trying to evade sanctions,” Hayashi was quoted as saying.

“Strong ties between India and Japan are important for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Our nations look forward to working together in defence, technology, semiconductors, clean energy and digital technology. We also wish to advance ties in infrastructure and cultural linkages,” PM Modi posted on X after meeting Kishida. There was no hint of the Ukraine conflict in posts on the meeting by the two sides.