MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered Japan Tobacco Inc.'s Russia assets to be placed under the temporary management of a Russian firm, in Moscow's latest move against a country imposing sanctions over the war against Ukraine.
The presidential decree covers the Russian assets of JT International, which consolidates the Japanese conglomerate's international business. Its Russia operation accounts for around 10 percent of Japan Tobacco's sales.
No reason was given for the presidential move, but the Kremlin, when it recently took similar action against European companies, said they belonged to countries "unfriendly" to Russia.
Japan Tobacco continued operating in Russia while other Japanese companies withdrew from the market amid Moscow's ongoing war against Kyiv, launched with a full-scale invasion in 2022.
The company said in a statement issued Friday that it has confirmed the decree applying to four of its units in Russia and that it is "reviewing details of the matter, options we can take and the potential impact on our corporate group."
Also on Friday, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told a press conference that Tokyo had called on Moscow to reverse the move.
"Japan has repeatedly urged Russia to protect the legitimate interests of Japanese citizens and businesses," Katayama said, adding that the government will continue to monitor the situation closely and respond appropriately in coordination with relevant ministries and JT.
Separately, Kimitake Nakamura, director general of the Foreign Ministry's European Affairs Bureau, protested to Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev over Putin's signing of the decree and called for it to be withdrawn, according to ministry officials.
In recent months, Russia has stepped up its pressure on Japan, including through Putin making his first visit to a Russian-held, Japanese-claimed island in August. A Japanese journalist was detained in the Russian Far East last month on suspicion of espionage.
Japan Tobacco has four manufacturing facilities in Russia, including in the Leningrad and Lipetsk regions, employing a total of about 4,000 people. Having started operating in the country in 1999, it had grown to become the largest tobacco company in the market by 2007.
According to Tass news agency, the stakes in four entities -- Donskoy Tabak, Pereslavl-Tabak, JTI Yelets and Kres Neva -- were ordered to be transferred to JSC Industrial Assets.
In 2023, the Russian government made it possible to place the Russia assets of companies from unfriendly countries under the temporary management of the Russian government or companies.
