Japan expels eight Russians and tightens sanctions on Moscow

Japan on Wednesday followed through on two of its measures to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, as it expelled diplomats and took legislative steps to formally revoke Moscow’s favorable trading status.

As Moscow’s war against Ukraine continues, eight officials accused of spying on Japan left Tokyo’s Haneda Airport with their families on a chartered plane arranged by the Russian government.

Among the eight are diplomats and staffers who worked at the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, as well as officials from the Office of the Trade Representative of Russia in Japan. The ousted group is believed to be responsible for intelligence-gathering in Japan, and included several mid-ranked government officials that Japanese police had been watching. Ambassador Mikhail Garuzin was not among them.

The expulsion of the group was announced on April 8 following reports of massacres by Russian soldiers near Kyiv and marks the first time Japan has expelled a group of diplomats at once since at least World War II.

Japan joined the U.S. and several European countries with the expulsion of Russian diplomats following the start of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, has announced it had expelled 45 “spies pretending to be diplomats,” according to the nation’s foreign and interior ministries.

The Russian side has dismissed the accusations as baseless and is expected to take countermeasures.

Japan is also finalizing steps to tighten economic sanctions on Russia.

Parliament passed a bill on Wednesday during a plenary session at the Upper House that amends a law on tariffs, allowing the country to join Western nations in revoking Russia’s most favored nation status.

The enactment of the bill will result in a rise on tariffs for Russian fish and seafood until the end of March 2023 under a Cabinet order that will be issued based on the newly revised law.

The United States, the EU and the United Kingdom have already announced similar moves following a Group of Seven leaders’ statement last Friday saying that the nations would do their utmost to deny preferred trade status to Russia.

A revised foreign exchange and trade law is also aimed at preventing the misuse of virtual currency as a sanctions loophole. The amendments will regulate the transfer of virtual currency to third-party accounts and will require those exchanging such currencies to confirm that they were not sent to a sanctioned party.

Once the most favored nation status for Russia is revoked, imports from Russia will be then subject to higher tariff rates. The tariff rate on salmon will increase from the current 3.5% to 5% and from 4% to 6% on crab.

On the other hand, the enactment of the bill will not affect imports of crude oil, liquefied natural gas, and palladium — a rare metal — since the tariff rate was set at zero even before Russia received preferential status. Russia is one of the world’s key suppliers of palladium, nickel, aluminum, steel and copper.

Japan is also planning to expand its list of banned exports to Russia, including luxury items, and to freeze the assets of more Russians.