TOKYO, March 19. /TASS/. Japan considers it as ‘absolutely unacceptable’ to organize the Russian presidential election voting in Donbass, Crimea and the Novorossiya regions, as Tokyo cannot tolerate a change in the status quo and considers these territories to be a part of Ukraine, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said.

"Russia’s ‘annexation’ of these regions to its own territory is a clear violation of international law that infringes upon Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is also inconsistent with relevant UN General Assembly resolutions," the Japanese Foreign Ministry quoted Kamikawa as saying in a statement.

According to the statement, "…Japan cannot condone any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force."

"It is totally unacceptable that Russia conducts such ‘elections’ in the regions of Ukraine," she continued. "Japan will continue to work with the international community including the G7 to impose severe sanctions against Russia and provide strong support for Ukraine in order to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine as soon as possible."

Russia held the presidential election from March 15-17. This is the first such election where votes could be cast over three days and be submitted online remotely. The e-voting system was available in about one-third of Russian regions. With 100% of ballots counted, Russian incumbent President Vladimir Putin collected 87.28% of the vote, according to data from the Russian Election Commission. The turnout of 77.44% was the highest ever in Russia’s recent history.

Four candidates were running in Russia’s first three-day presidential election on March 15-17, 2024, namely New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov; self-nominated candidate and incumbent President Vladimir Putin; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky; and Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov.