Compliance with Washington sanctions: Japanese banks not allowed to deal with Lam and others

The Japanese government has confirmed that Japanese banks with operations in the United States must comply with Washington’s sanctions.

This means that Japanese banks are not allowed to conduct transactions with Chinese Communist Party officials, such as Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who are subject to U.S. sanctions, and others, and if they already have accounts, they will be frozen. This also allows these sanctioned individuals to sell their real estate holdings in Japan.

It is unclear whether Carrie Lam has any accounts in Japanese banks, but authorities said they are investigating the matter, according to a Dec. 10 report from a variety of international media.

The Japanese government confirmed the matter at a cabinet meeting on December 8 in response to a written question from a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker and former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Hitoshi Matsubara. Hitoshi Matsubara said:I believe this will anger the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, which has great wealth and may be investing in Japan.”

It is believed that if Hitoshi Matsubara’s assessment is correct, this development could prompt members of the Chinese Communist Party to move their assets out of Japan.