Japan has protested to Russia and demanded that Moscow withdraw its decision to place the Russian assets of Japan Tobacco (JT) under the temporary management of a domestic company, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a morning press conference on the 6th.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree placing the JT group's holdings in Russia under temporary management. Kihara said officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who are visiting Russia, lodged the protest together with Japan's ambassador to Russia.
"From the standpoint of seeking to ensure that the legitimate interests of the Japanese people and companies are not harmed, we protested and asked that the measure be withdrawn immediately," Kihara said, according to his account of the démarche. He added that the government would "continue to closely monitor the situation and respond appropriately."
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama also said at a press conference after the day's cabinet meeting that Japan had protested to the Russian government and called for the swift withdrawal of the measure.
Assets caught between the two governments
JT is one of Japan's largest corporate investors in Russia, and the decree puts part of that footprint under the control of a Russian company rather than its Japanese owner. The protest was delivered in Moscow by the visiting ministry officials and the ambassador, rather than through a summons of the Russian ambassador in Tokyo.