Japan grants relief to Russian owners of right-hand drive cars
Russian car owners of vehicles from Japan may feel a sense of relief. But they're not the only ones. According to the Russian service autostat.ru, the government in Tokyo has allowed the sale of specific car parts and spare parts to Russia.
Following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia faced sanctions from Western countries. Despite this, some manufacturers have limited or completely stopped collaborating with the entities of the world's largest country by landmass. Therefore, Japan's unexpected easing of restrictions likely came as a significant surprise to the Russians.
Reports from autostat.ru indicate that Japan has authorized the export of parts for Japanese-branded cars to Russia. This primarily involves what are known as mild hybrids. The list includes several models from brands like Suzuki, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Honda, as well as Mercedes. However, this applies to cars with the steering wheel on the right side.
Therefore, this change won't affect all Russians. It will mainly benefit those already accustomed to driving vehicles imported from Japan. For many years, residents of Russia's far eastern regions were familiar with importing much cheaper used cars from Japan.
In Russia, removing some restrictions is seen as a sign of cracks appearing in the Western world's solidarity. The Kremlin is undoubtedly hopeful that weakening demand in global markets will motivate individual governments to relax laws and perhaps even lift sanctions entirely.
