Japan Revises Law to Prevent Russia from Using Cryptocurrency to Evade Sanctions – Japan is preparing to revise its foreign exchange laws to stop Russia from circumnavigating Western economic and financial sanctions against the country by using its cryptocurrency assets.
Japanese government officials revealed on Monday that a revision of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act will be presented to parliament to stop Russia from using digital assets to bypass sanctions that have already blocked Russia from accessing its reserves of foreign currency.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also stressed the importance of working with Western allies on future sanctions and called for the law to be amended immediately.
The revision is expected to allow the Japanese government to apply the law to cryptocurrency exchanges in the same way it applies to banks, meaning that Japan will effectively be able to block transactions with Russia.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also said on Monday that Japanese companies have also been asked to refuse requests from Russia for oil payments to be made in Rubles. Last week, Russia announced that “unfriendly” countries – meaning those who have implemented sanctions against the country or denounced the war in Ukraine – will be required to pay for gas and oil in Rubles, not Euros.
Further sanctions were also announced with regards to the export of luxury goods from Japan to Russia, which will come into effect on April 5. According to a statement from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, luxury cars, cosmetics, clothes, and liquors will no longer be exported to Russia.
Japan’s Sanctions So Far
In the first week of March, Japan unveiled a range of sanctions against Russia, including sanctions on dozens of Russian officials and oligarchs. Among those targeted by the Japanese sanctions were President Vladimir Putin’s deputy chiefs of staff, deputy chairman of the state parliament, and executives of several major Russian companies with connections to the Wagner Group, a private military organization.
Wagner Group mercenaries were reportedly deployed to Ukraine by the Kremlin this week.
Japan also banned the export of oil refinery equipment to Russia, as well as the export of general-purpose items to Belarus that could be used by the nation’s military. Exports to the Belarusian defense ministry and police groups were also blocked by Japan.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
