On 31 October, 2023, Japan imposed a collection of asset freezes on individuals and entities related to or supporting Hamas. The sanctions came after a surprise attack on Israel by Hamas on 7 October. Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel while also crossing the border and massacring Israeli civilians. It is estimated that 1,400 Israeli nationals and foreigners were killed in the attacks. In the following days, while Hamas continued its attacks, Israel scrambled to mobilize its military to counter the threat posed by Hamas in Gaza. Israel began its counteroffensive with a barrage of airstrikes, followed by a ground invasion of Gaza which has lasted for over six months. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Japan joined …

The war in Ukraine has been raging for almost two years now. In the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions on the Russian economy, a significant part of which was made up of asset freezes on some $300 billion in assets owned by the Russian Central Bank and Russian oligarchs. The war has devastated much of Ukraine’s eastern regions, infrastructure, and cities. The West has pledged to help rebuild Ukraine once the war is over, but such a task will cost billions, if not trillions, of dollars to accomplish. One solution advanced by Western lawmakers is to seize the assets that were frozen by sanctions and donate them to Ukraine to finance its reconstruction once …