Japan will impose sanctions on Belarus from this week on its role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday.
“As a result of Belarus’ apparent involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have decided to take disciplinary action against the incumbent, including President (Alexander) Lukashenko, and organizations, and to implement export control measures,” Kishida told parliament.
This must be done before the end of this week, ”said Kishida. Belarus, known for its close ties to Russia, has served as a gateway to Moscow’s forces invading Ukraine.
At a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Kishida also rejected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s proposal that Japan begin talks on a possible nuclear program with the United States in the aftermath of Russia’s violence in Ukraine, a non-nuclear country. .
“It is difficult to accept such an idea and the government has no plans to discuss it,” Kishida said, reiterating that the idea was not in line with Japan’s three non-nuclear policies for non-production, seizing or allowing nuclear weapons in its place.
During World War II, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by U.S. atomic bombs. Kishida, elected in the Hiroshima region, has been searching for a world without nuclear weapons.