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05Aug14

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Issuikai group calls on Japan to cancel sanctions against Russia

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Japan should be the world's first country to cancel sanctions against Russia and open its consulate in Crimea, the leader of a Japanese public movement said on Tuesday.

"The Japanese government should not have joined these sanctions," said Mitsuhiro Kimura, leader of the right-wing political group Issuikai, who is currently on a working visit in the Crimean capital city Simferopol. "But as long as it did join these sanctions, Japan should be a first state to cancel these sanctions and the first one to come to Crimea and set up a consulate here. We must open our consulate here."

He said that a very important factor was the fact that Japan's prime minister had not put his signature under the document on sanctions.

The idea of opening Japan's consulate in Crimea found support from Russian president's envoy in the Crimean federal district, Oleg Belaventsev. "It would be a very right decision," he said at a meeting with the Issuikai delegation. "A consulate will be a first step to be followed by closer working contacts."

Belaventsev said he did not quite understand the current relations between Japan and the United States. "I am a grownup man and I don't understand how the Japanese can develop relations with the Americans who dropped two atomic bombs on them," he said.

As for the sanctions, they would only mobilize Russia, the presidential envoy said. "The more difficult the situation is the more mobilized we are," he noted. "We have got somewhat corrupted in the democratic times - starting transferring assets and capital abroad, buying football clubs instead of developing our native country. And now everything will be all right."

Set up in 1971 by followers of world-acclaimed Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, Issuikai is one of Japan's biggest far right organizations. It stands for Japan's independent foreign policy and reforming the United Nations Organizations.

[Source: Itar Tass, Simferopol, 05Aug14]

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