Japan will join Western nations in removing selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, the country’s prime minister says, 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 says.
“Western nations have requested Japan participate. Japan will join this initiative,” he adds.
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.
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