Japanese FM banned from entering Russia

Russia has banned Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya from entering the country, Interfax reported, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"As part of countermeasures to the ongoing so-called sanctions measures undertaken by Tokyo against our country with regard to the special military operation, a decision has been made to ban the following Japanese citizens from entering the Russian Federation indefinitely: Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya," the statement published on the ministry's website said.

The Russian stop list also includes Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Masashi Nakagome and former Ambassador Kuninori Matsuda, Senior Vice President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Shohei Hara and head of JICA's office in Ukraine Hideki Matsunaga, it said.