The Russian news agency TASS reported that “Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has officially announced the cessation of car production in Russia.”

There is tension in Japanese-Russian relations due to Tokyo’s position towards Russia against the backdrop of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, as well as Japan’s participation in sanctions against Moscow through the G7.

On the other hand, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 22 that the Russian-Japanese negotiations on the Kuril Islands are a thing of the past and will not continue, noting that “Japan has become an unfriendly country towards Russia, and it is very difficult to talk about continuing negotiating process on the islands. Four Kuriles, which are an integral part of Russia.

He explained that “for the first time since 2003, Japan officially classified the islands as northern regions and indicated that they were illegally occupied by Russia in its annual Diplomacy Blue Book report. for the first time since 2011, re-designated the islands as Japan’s ancestral territories.”