Russia said Wednesday it has banned entry to several dozen Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, after Tokyo joined international sanctions against Moscow over its military campaign in Ukraine.
"The administration of F. Kishida launched an unprecedented anti-Russian campaign (and) allows unacceptable rhetoric against the Russian Federation, including slander and direct threats," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"It is echoed by public figures, experts, representatives of Japanese media, who are completely engaged by the attitudes of the West towards our country," the ministry added.
It accused Tokyo of taking "practical steps aimed at dismantling good neighbourly ties, damaging the Russian economy and the international prestige of the country".
The ministry said it was "indefinitely" banning from Russia 63 Japanese citizens, including the prime minister, cabinet members, lawmakers, journalists and professors.
Kishida retorted that it was "Russia that brought Japan-Russia relations to this point".
"It is Russia who invited such situations by resorting to military steps," he told journalists accompanying him on a trip to Italy and the Vatican.
Russia's "killing of innocent civilians is a significant violation of international humanitarian law," he said. "We cannot forgive this".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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