Japanese FM banned from entering Russia

MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - Russia has banned Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya from entering the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"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.

The CEOs of a number of Japanese companies, namely, IHI Corporation President Hiroshi Ide, Isuzu Motors CEO Shinsuke Minami, Prodrone President Shunsuke Toya, and Cyberdyne CEO Yoshiyuki Sankai are also banned from entering the country, it said.