In the government's sharpest terms yet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other officials on Wednesday "condemned" Moscow for its attempted annexation of Crimea and promised further economic sanctions.
Japanese officials, eager to forge closer ties to the resource-rich nation and promote talks to resolve the long-standing territorial issue involving the four Russian-controlled islands northeast of Hokkaido, had taken a relatively cautious approach.
But addressing the Diet on Wednesday, Abe "condemned" Russia for "violating the unity, sovereign and territorial integrity of Ukraine."