Tokyo demands Moscow release seized Japan Tobacco assets

TOKYO

A man walks past signage of Japan Tobacco (JT) in Tokyo on January 26, 2023. (AFP File Photo)

Tokyo said on Nov. 6 it had demanded the immediate release of Japan Tobacco's assets seized in Russia, as relations with Moscow soured following the arrest of a Japanese journalist on spying allegations.

The seizure, which the Kremlin ordered on Nov. 5, is the latest move against a foreign company's Russian operations under rules that Moscow casts as retribution for international sanctions.

Japan Tobacco is one of the world's biggest tobacco companies and holds around 40 percent of the Russian cigarette market, according to media reports.

Japanese government spokesman Minoru Kihara said that two senior officials from Tokyo visiting Russia "had lodged a protest with the Russian government together with the ambassador of Japan to Russia, and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the measure."

Japan Tobacco said on Nov. 5 that four of the group's manufacturing subsidiaries had been placed under temporary control and it was assessing "possible actions."

A decree issued by President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 5 said the assets would be taken into "temporary administration."

Several European firms have seen their Russian operations effectively lost, most recently Swiss food conglomerate Nestle and French supermarket giant Auchan.

Hundreds of foreign companies left Russia in the wake of its full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, but many others chose to stay.

Moscow slapped tough financial restrictions on companies from so-called "unfriendly" countries that have put sanctions on Moscow over the war.