The Japanese government is amending its foreign exchange law to prevent Russia from evading sanctions imposed by the western countries.
According to a Reuters report, the country will be introducing a modified Foreign Exchange And Foreign Trade Act bill in the parliament that attempts to impede the efforts of sanctioned countries from taking evasive actions using digital assets.
Japan To Introduce A Bill That Includes Crypto Exchanges
In a recent press conference, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that the country is looking forward to submitting a revision of its Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act in the parliament to include crypto exchanges under regulatory scrutiny.
According to Saisuke Sakai, senior economist at Mizuho Research and Technologies, the proposed amendment “presumably enables the government to apply the law to crypto-asset exchanges like banks and oblige them to scrutinize whether their clients are Russian sanction targets.”
Moreover, the country’s Prime Minister Fumio Kashido shared a similar viewpoint by supporting the proposed amendment and underlining the need for coordination with western allies to enforce the amended law.
The discussions for the proposed amendments are currently under work, a Finance Ministry official told Reuters.
Japan has recently imposed strict sanctions on Russia following its unprecedented invasion of Ukraine. As per sources, the Japanese government has imposed asset freeze sanctions on Russian oligarchs, banks, and officials.
