MOSCOW - Russia has banned Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya and eight other Japanese citizens from entering the country in a retaliatory move, the Russian foreign ministry said Monday.

The decision was made in response to Tokyo's "ongoing so-called sanction measures" against Russia, the ministry said in a statement.

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The list also included Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Masashi Nakagome and former Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda, among others.