Japan PM says to join US, Europe to bar designated Russian banks from SWIFT: report

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Feb. 27 that the country will impose additional sanctions on Russia and that Japan will join the US and European countries' efforts to bar designated Russian banks from the international payment system SWIFT following their requests, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Speaking to reporters Feb. 27, Kishida said Japan had also decided to impose additional sanctions such as an asset freeze on Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian government officials following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to NHK.

The move by Japan followed the US, Canada and European allies who announced Feb. 26 a new slate of sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine that will bar Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and tie the hands of its central bank.

Details on how the sanctions will be implemented have not been unveiled, so it remains unclear whether these new moves will specifically impact oil and gas flows.

"Although the details have not yet been released, it appears to be narrowly targeted and thus should not directly affect Russian commodity exports," said Rick Joswick, head of Global Oil Analytics at S&P Global Platts Analytics.

Russia accounted for 9% of Japan's total LNG imports of 74.32 million mt in 2021 and 4% of total crude imports of 2.48 million b/d, according to the most recent Ministry of Finance data.

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a statement: "The United States welcomes Prime Minister Kishida's swift decision to align Japan with actions announced by the United States, outlined in the February 26 Joint Statement on Further Restrictive Economic Measures.

"The United States looks forward to coordinating closely with Japan in the coming days to implement these measures and to take further steps together with the G-7 and likeminded partners to impose costs on President Putin for his reckless decision to wage war in Ukraine," Emanuel said.

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