Japan to cancel sanctions if Russia takes efforts for Ukrainian conflict settlement

Japan is ready to reconsider or cancel its sanctions against Russia if it takes actions aimed at the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said in a statement on Thursday.
The Japanese minister said his country imposed extra sanctions on Russia because it had no evidence that Russia stopped it actions to destabilise the situation in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the Japanese government adopted an additional package of measures against Russia, including restrictions on securities transactions of five Russian banks and restrictions on the export of weapons and related technology to Russia.
Shinzo Abe: "Both pressure and dialogue necessary in relations with Russia"
Not only pressure, but also dialogue is necessary in relations with Russia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a conversation with French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.

“It’s important to pressure Russia by means of sanctions, but also find an approach through dialogue and interaction,” Abe said.
The French president in turn approved the imposition of new sanctions on Russia by Japan announced on Wednesday. The new punitive measures were coordinated with those of G7 members. The penalties stipulate restrictions on operations with securities of five Russian banks and restrictions on arms exports to Russia.
Sanctions against Russia
Russia came under Western sanctions, originally visa bans and asset freezes, for incorporation of Crimea in mid-March after a coup in Ukraine in February. Later, Western claims that Russia is taking part in hostilities in southeast Ukraine, which Moscow has repeatedly denied, resulted in more serious, sectoral, restrictions.
In response, Moscow imposed on August 6 a one-year ban on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from Australia, Canada, the EU, the United States and Norway.
The EU and the United States imposed the latest batch of sectoral sanctions against Russia on September 12 despite the deal on a ceasefire, signed in Minsk a week before, between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics (DPR and LPR) in the embattled southeast of Ukraine.
According to UN data, clashes between troops loyal to Kiev and local militias in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions during Kiev’s military operation to regain control over the breakaway territories have resulted in about 3,500 deaths.