Russia says it has denied entrance to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kisida and more than 60 others, including cabinet ministers, members of the media, and intellectuals, in response to the Japanese government's sanctions against Moscow for its unjustified invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow's Foreign Ministry stated in a statement on May 4 that the ban is indefinite.

Foreign Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Finance Minister Shun'ichi Suzuki, Defense Minister Nobuo Kisi, and Hirokazu Matsuno, the cabinet's general secretary, are forbidden from entering Russia.

Senior executives from the Yomiuri Shimbun Group are on the list, which publishes Japan's biggest daily, and the Nikkei Group.

Japan has joined the United States, the European Union, and a number of its allies in slapping a series of devastating penalties against Russia in response to its conflict in Ukraine.