Tokyo, Nov. 5 (Jiji Press)--Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday issued an order for assets held by Japan Tobacco Inc. in Russia to be placed under the temporary management of a Russian company.

Putin signed a decree on the move the same day.

Russia has been increasing pressure on Japan. Putin in August visited Etorofu, one of the four northwestern Pacific islands at the center of a long-standing territorial dispute between Tokyo and Moscow, marking his first trip ever to any of the islands. Last month, Russian authorities detained a reporter for the Hokkaido Shimbun, a daily newspaper in Japan, on suspicion of espionage.

Russia set up the temporary management system for foreign firms' assets in 2023 based on a presidential decree as a countermeasure against Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

A company whose Russian assets are placed under the management of the Russian side based on the system continues to possess the ownership of the assets but effectively loses management right.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]