Global: Japan freezes Russia Central Bank’s assets

Japan has announced on 1 March 2022 that it joined the US and its international allies in imposing additional sanctions to the Russian Federation, amid the conflict in Ukraine.

The new set of sanctions includes freezing the assets of the country’s national bank, the assets of leader Vladimir Putin, and the assets of other three important financial institutions, including Promsvyazbank and Vnesheconombank.

Moreover, Japan will prohibit exports to 49 Russian entities, following the lead of the United States which imposed similar sanctions on the Central Bank of Russian Federation. As of June 2021, Russia held around USD 585.3 billion foreign reserves, of which almost 6% were in JPY.