US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it “a war of aggression.”

In a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Friday, Emanuel criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the Russian leader threatened the world in his address to announce the military aggression against Ukraine, in which he stated that Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states.

“President Putin has threatened the world with the use of nuclear weapons. We cannot and will not let this aggression stand unanswered,” Emanuel said.

“This is not just going to be confined between Russia and Ukraine,” he also said, warning, apparently with China’s tightening of controls on Hong Kong and its coercion against Taiwan in mind, that the basic principle of upholding international order based on the rule of law has been undermined in not only Europe but also the Indo-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, Emanuel said “I welcome and deeply appreciate” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s “strong and steady leadership” to announce his country’s additional sanctions against Russia Friday “in defense of liberty, democracy, human dignity and international law.”

Japan’s “swift response” in collaboration with its Group of Seven partners, including the United States, will “impose unprecedented economic costs on Russia” and is “welcomed by the United States,” he said.

In a press conference at the FCCJ earlier in the day, Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzins warned that Moscow could make “a serious response” to the Japanese sanctions.

Asked if he is afraid of this, Emanuel said, “No.”

JIJI Press