Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven industrialized nations met online Tuesday to discuss the details of an additional financial sanction against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The G-7 nations have said they will exclude some Russian banks from SWIFT, a key international payment system, to disrupt Russia’s foreign trade. After making procedural adjustments in the meeting, the sanction is expected to take effect later this week.
The Japanese government said Sunday it will join the punitive action led by the United States and European countries. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication system connects more than 11,000 banks, financial institutions and companies in over 200 countries and territories.
Since Russia has its own financial messaging channel called SPFS and may be able to get away with the restriction if it is connected to a payment system of its friendly nation China, whether the G-7 nations can take coordinated action is key to maximizing the effectiveness of the sanction, according to observers.
The G-7 members — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the United States plus the European Union — are also expected to discuss any impact the sanction may have on the economies of each country.
Earlier in the day, the Japanese government said it implemented fresh sanctions against Russia.
It froze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and five other Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and restricted transactions with the Russian central bank.
The Japanese government’s restriction on the Russian central bank was to keep in step with the United States and Europe in punishing Moscow by preventing it from deploying its foreign reserves kept at other central banks.
The measure, which makes it difficult to prop up the ruble, could deal a debilitating blow to the Russian economy.
Tokyo unveiled the first set of sanctions against Moscow on Wednesday, a day before Russia launched the invasion, including a ban on the issuance and trading of new Russian sovereign bonds in Japan.
