Despite being a close ally to the United States and the other Group of Seven members, Japan implements sanctions comparatively sparingly toward China and Russia.
Now that the G7 has placed a greater priority on tackling illicit finance in the June 2021 Cornwall Summit, Japan risks being left behind if it continues in its hesitation to impose the same sanctions its G7 allies do. As sanctions coordination increases between the United States and its allies, Japan must join them with similar sanctions of their own, or risk becoming a hub for Chinese and Russian sanctions evasion.
Japan’s hesitance to sanction China and Russia stems from its desire to have strategic relationships while retaining neutrality. Japan’s economic interdependence with China is deep, from the 7,754 Japanese businesses operating in China to the over 8 million Chinese tourists that visited Japan in 2019.