Japan not to adopt hasty anti-Russian sanctions yet — FM

The Japanese government will try to refrain from hasty decisions on new sanctions against Russia following the incident with the Malaysian airliner and wait for the international investigation results, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told Hokkaido Shimbun daily.
“It is important to find out the truth about the incident with the downed aircraft,” he said. “Our decision will be based on a thorough analysis. At this stage, one should refrain from light-minded decisions.”
If needed, Tokyo was ready to assist the investigation now carried out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Ukraine, the Netherlands and other states, the Minister added.
“Japanese-Russian relations are important for the Asia Pacific. We need to continue political dialogue,” Fumio Kishida said. However, the details of decisions about mutual visits this year reached earlier were now “uncertain”, he added.

Japan’s first package of sanctions against Russia was introduced on March 18 in connection with Russia’s stance on Crimea. These sanctions froze consultations about relaxing the visa regime and delayed talks about agreements on investment and space cooperation and prevention of dangerous military actions. On July 24, Tokyo announced suspension of visa issuance for 23 Russian officials but did not release the black list.
Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 crashed on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Region on July 17, killing all 298 aboard.