Japan to Freeze 3 Belarusian Banks' Assets

Japan will freeze the assets of three Belarusian banks days after EU countries agreed to toughen sanctions on Minsk over its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Thursday.

Tokyo's latest sanctions on Belarus, to be imposed from April 10, come as Japan acts with its G7 partners to pressure Moscow with a series of constraints on financial institutions and exports including semiconductors.

Japan had previously announced sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Earlier this week, the European Union gave the go-ahead to cut three Belarusian banks from the global SWIFT messaging system over the country's involvement in the Kremlin's attack.

The three banks that will be sanctioned in Japan's asset freeze are Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, the foreign ministry said, reports AFP.