Moscow rejects Japanese sanctions and prepares its own response

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry described Japan's new sanctions as hostile and warned that they would not go unanswered.

Last week, Tokyo expanded the measures imposed in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding to the list of sanctioned individuals and companies and at the same time lowering the price cap on Russian oil.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would respond in a measured manner and act solely on the basis of its own national interests.

She added that the planned steps could also take an asymmetrical form – in other words, they could turn out differently than Tokyo would expect.

(reuters, red)