TOKYO, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Japan’s government on Tuesday denied a media report that it had rebuffed a European Union request to join plans to use frozen Russian state assets to fund Ukraine.
“It’s completely false,” Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura told reporters, referring to a report by POLITICO.
“Japan has acted for Ukraine from our national interest,” as Japan could one day face a similar situation in East Asia, said Mimura, who oversees currency policy and coordinates economic policy with other nations.
POLITICO reported that during a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers, Tokyo had poured cold water on a request by Brussels to copy its plans to send Ukraine the cash value of Russian sovereign assets held in Belgian bank Euroclear.
The report said Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama had ruled out using around $30 billion worth of its Russian frozen assets to issue a loan to Ukraine, citing legal concerns.
“Minister Katayama never made such a comment (in the G7 meeting),” Mimura said. “She told the meeting that Japan in preparing to make specific steps to support (Ukraine).”
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Takaya Yamaguchi; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Andrew Heavens)
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