Japan says joining measures to cut Russian banks from SWIFT

Japan will join Western nations in removing selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, the country's prime minister said Sunday, piling further pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

"In what was released this morning by the Western nations, steps are taken to isolate Russia from the international financial system and the world economy including exclusion of specific Russian banks from SWIFT," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

"Western nations have requested Japan participate. Japan will join this initiative," he added.

Explained | SWIFT and its role in Russia-Ukraine crisis

SWIFT's messaging system allows banks to communicate rapidly and securely about transactions, and cutting Russia off would cripple its trade with most of the world.

Embattled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday once again asked the international community to sever Russia from the SWIFT system.

Kishida's government has already announced a series of joint sanctions against Moscow, targeting financial institutions and semiconductor exports, working with its partners in the Group of Seven.

Follow live Ukriane-Russia crisis updates here

In addition to $100 million in loans already offered to Ukraine, Kishida said Tokyo would offer another $100 million in emergency humanitarian aid.

"In light of this emergency situation, Japan reiterates that we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine who are striving to defend their sovereignty, territory, motherland and families," he said.

He also announced Japan would seek to identify and freeze assets belonging to President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials.

Japan, a key US ally, has complex relations with Russia and did not sign a peace treaty after World War II because of a lingering dispute over four islands claimed by Moscow in the closing days of the conflict.

The islands, off the coast of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, are known as the southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

Check out latest DH videos here