April 16 & 17, 2022

Japanese Communist Party Dietmember Daimon Mikishi on April 15 demanded an international countermeasure on tax havens in addition to financial sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian government officials.

Daimon in the House of Councilors plenary session took the floor to discuss a set of bills concerning sanctions against Russia in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He pointed out that wealthy Russians are, reportedly, moving their assets to tax havens.

Referring to the recent report released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Daimon said that Russian "oligarchs" and wealthy Russians are moving their assets to tax havens which are used for tax evasion and money laundering.

Daimon said, "Tax authorities in each country have been exchanging information and taking countermeasures against illicit financial flows using tax havens, but there are still many loopholes."

In order to make economic sanctions on Russia more effective, he demanded that Japan propose stricter countermeasures, including freezes of the assets of oligarchs in tax havens, to G20 countries.