Eight Russian Diplomats Expelled by Japan Have Exited the Country

The 8 Russia diplomats expelled by Japan had taken the flight prepared by Russia to leave Tokyo from Haneda Airport. It’s reported that the Japanese government announced the expulsion of the 8 Russia diplomats in Japan on April 8, including the diplomats of the Russia embassy and the staff of the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Japan.
Japanese media quoted that the people familiar with the matter said that these eight people are mainly responsible for intelligence work in Japan, and many of them are key figures from the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU) and the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR).
Historically, Japan has only a few precedents for declaring foreign diplomats persona non grata, such as the expulsion of a South Korean diplomat in 1973, an Ivorian diplomat in 2006, and the Syrian ambassador in 2012. Therefore, Japan’s expulsion of multiple diplomats at once is considered extremely unusual.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the measure was a sanction against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and made based on a careful assessment of the current situation. Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretariat, Yoshihiko Isozaki stated that “due to the nature of the matter, no reply will be given” to the expulsion of Russian diplomats.