Rudlin Consulting

I have just become aware of this “Leave Russia” database, from the Kyiv School of Economics, similar to the Yale project, but with more detail, pointing to 168 Japanese companies who have business connections to Russia – 84 are still continuing operations, 10 are pausing investments, 16 scaling back, 42 suspending, 11 have withdrawn and 5 have completed their exit.

The link is courtesy of Olga Sotnyk, an adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, in her guest post for Comment is Freed. As she puts it “hundreds of large Western companies continue to operate in Russia, generating profits and paying taxes to the Russian budget, thereby indirectly financing the war in Ukraine. Pragmatic interests are understandable, but the global threat posed by the Russian state today is not just a problem for Ukraine or the region, it is a threat to stability, including economic stability, throughout the world.”

Some of the biggest still operating in Russia in terms of employees are unsurprisingly the trading companies such as Sojitz, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui, involved in energy projects.

Some I had not realised were operating in Russia at such a scale were Kuraray, chemicals and textiles manufacturer with 552 employees, advertising agency Hakuhodo with 455 employees, Kintetsu World Express with 429 employees,  A&D – medical instruments, 415 employees and Pioneer (in car audio) 174 employees.