TOKYO, May 9. /TASS/. The crippling position of Japan in the situation related to Ukraine has led to a downturn in bilateral trade and investment cooperation, Russian temporary charge d'affaires in Japan Gennady Ovechko told TASS in an interview on Tuesday.

"The disruptive position of Japan in the ‘Ukrainian case" context has resulted in the drop in bilateral trade and investment cooperation. Japanese companies always eyed the Russian market as a premium one, with specific features but comfortable overall and fairly promising for the business activity. They earned high profits from us. This can probably be an explanation to the pragmatic approach towards operations in our country. However, the business community at present is exposed to an unprecedented pressure from local authorities and overseas," the diplomat said.

"Contrary to international commitments, Japanese authorities limited or banned exports of a wide range of goods to Russia. As a result, used cars (41.5% of the turnover) became the top position for exports from Japan to Russia in 2022," Ovechko noted.

"In the first quarter of 2023, trade plummeted by 41% after a series of hits not related to the market. Further decline is forecast due to prospects of the buildup of illegitimate restrictions of the collective West against Russia," he added.