JAPAN, US back increasing sanctions against Russia
Tokyo, Jul 12 (EFE).- The United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Tuesday met in Tokyo and agreed to pursue more sanctions against Russia to support Ukraine and fight the economic instability caused by the Russian invasion.
“We are united in our strong condemnation of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustifiable, and illegal war against Ukraine” and would “continue to increase Russia’s cost of its war by implementing economic and financial sanctions,” the two leaders said in a joint statement after meeting in the Japanese capital on Tuesday.
The two sides agreed to coordinate their response to the economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February, including impacts such as volatility in the currency exchange markets and economy.
The statement highlighted the rising prices of food, energy and raw material and food insecurity as the major challenges for both global and their own economies.
Yellen met Suzuki as part of a stop in Japan on her way to the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank administrators, which is set to kick off in Indonesia on Friday.
During her Tokyo visit, Yellen also met Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda in a closed door meeting, with the agenda possibly including inflation and the impact of the Russian invasion on the global economy.
On Monday evening, the US treasury secretary paid her respects to former prime minister Shinzo Abe during a memorial meeting at the capital’s Zojoji Buddhist temple, attended by around 2,500 people.
In her discussion with Suzuki, Yellen highlighted Abe’s role in helping the Japanese economy recover and making Japan a world leader in different spheres, according to local media reports.
She added that one of Abe’s major legacies was the close ties between Japan and US.
Abe died on Friday after being shot in the back by a man with a homemade gun while he was participating in a campaign event ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections for the upper house, in which his (ruling) party registered a landslide victory. EFE
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