Japan does not recognize results of Russian elections in Crimea
Japan does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014, and, therefore, the legitimacy and results of the "elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation," which were held in the Crimea on September 18, 2016, according to a statement by the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine.
The Embassy also stressed that Japan “supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and does not recognize the attempts to change the status quo by force.”
On Sunday, September 18, 2016, elections to the State Duma were held in the Russian Federation. Moscow decided to also hold elections within the territory of the annexed Crimea which has drawn sharp criticism from Kyiv and many Western countries.
A number of countries, including the U.S.A., Canada, France, Sweden, the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey have refused to recognize its legality within the annexed Crimea.
The Polish Foreign Ministry has questioned the legality of the parliamentary elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in general.
On the 20th of September 2016 the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine adopted a resolution on non-recognition of the legitimacy of the elections in the annexed Crimea and all members of the Russian State Duma of the seventh convocation.