Japan Tobacco Says It Will Continue Its Tobacco Business in Russia

On July 10, Japan Tobacco (JT) President Masamichi Terabatake stated clearly in a recent interview with Kyodo News that JT will continue its tobacco business in the Russian market.

Terabatake pointed out that JT still has options regarding whether to sell its business in Russia. However, the company hopes to continue operating in the Russian market as much as possible. He also mentioned that the company plans to continue retaining its employees in Ukraine and has already begun partially resuming production. In Russia, JT has four factories and a total of 4,000 employees, including production and management staff. Japan Tobacco's products are currently sold in 130 countries worldwide. It is reported that JT entered the Russian cigarette market in 1992, and over the past 20 years, its investment in Russia has exceeded US$4.6 billion.