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Japan protests as Putin orders takeover of Japan Tobacco's Russia unit. The move transfers Japan Tobacco International's Russian business to a local company under temporary administration, adding to tensions over Ukraine and a disputed island. Japan Tobacco shares were untraded Friday in Tokyo and set to fall by the daily limit | Image Credit: Bloomberg By Yoshiaki Nohara and Lisa Du Tokyo said it has protested Moscow's seizure of the assets of the Russian operation of Japan Tobacco Inc., the latest twist in an escalating diplomatic spat between the two nations. "We have lodged a protest with the Russian government and urged it to take immediate action, such as revoking the measures," Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa said at a regular press conference on Friday. Japan Tobacco International's Russian business was transferred to local company, JSC Industrial Assets, in a temporary administration, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin and published Thursday. The Japanese government owns around a third of Japan Tobacco. Japan Tobacco said in a statement that Russia had seized four of its manufacturing facilities, adding that it was gathering more information on the matter. Ties between Tokyo and Moscow have been in a tailspin since Putin made his first visit in August to a Russian-controlled island close to northern Japan that is claimed by Tokyo. Among other steps, Russia has detained a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage and aligned with China in labeling Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as a threat to regional security. Russia has been angered by Japan's backing for Ukraine, including financial and non-lethal military support. In October, Tokyo imposed new sanctions on Russia, citing "the situation involving Ukraine." Moscow's move against Japan Tobacco comes after Japan sent senior officials earlier this year to Russia for dialogue aimed at protecting the assets of Japanese companies operating there. As of October 2025, Japanese companies had 321 business locations in Russia, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry. A 2025 survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation sought feedback from 78 companies operating in Russia, down from 121 companies targeted in the 2021 survey. Japan Tobacco, the world's third largest tobacco company, has operated in Russia since 1999, according to its website. JTI employs 4,000 people in Russia and owns several production sites including in St. Petersburg and Rostov-on-Don. The company suspended new investments and marketing activities in Russia in 2022 but still has a 41 per cent share of the combustible tobacco market there. A loss of the Russian business would be a significant hit for Japan Tobacco, known for its Camel and Winston cigarettes. The country is estimated to contribute almost a quarter of Japan Tobacco's operating profit, SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Tsukasa Furuta wrote in a note Friday. Japan Tobacco also has an estimated ¥100 billion ($634 million) to ¥200 billion in local cash and deposits in Russia that could become trapped in the country, he added. Japan Tobacco shares were untraded Friday in Tokyo and set to fall by the daily limit. Among other Japanese companies operating in Russia, trading houses still have stakes in parts of Russia's energy sector. Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. have investments in the Sakhalin-2 LNG export plant in Russia's far east, and the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security has a share of the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. Putin has been intensifying the seizure of international companies' operations since September, when the Kremlin placed assets owned by Swiss food giant Nestle SA and French supermarket chain Auchan under temporary management. The Kremlin said one reason it targeted European companies from "unfriendly" countries was their military support for Ukraine in Russia's war on its neighbor. "There have been a series of cases in which Russian authorities have placed the assets of Western companies under temporary control," Akazawa said on Friday. "In that sense, to be honest, we have been on our guard." The series of Russian moves to target Japan may be motivated by Tokyo's financial contributions to a NATO program that funds the supply of US-manufactured military equipment to Ukraine, according to James Brown, a professor of political science at the Japan campus of Temple University. Earlier this year, Japan announced that it had provided around $14.7 million to NATO's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL. Tokyo also dispatched personnel to the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine headquarters in Germany. "Russia has long been concerned about Japan increasing cooperation with NATO," said Brown, an expert in Japan-Russia relations. "With Japan signing up to PURL, even though it's limited to non-lethal military support, that placed Japan in a different category."