Japan partially lifts the asset freeze on Bashar al-Assad and 16 Syrian entities

(CNN) - The Japanese government announced, on Tuesday, a partial lifting of the “asset freeze and other measures” imposed on the ousted Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, and related individuals and entities, enumerating 16 entities.

The Japanese government stated, according to a post on the official page of its embassy in Damascus on the X platform (formerly Twitter), that the parties that were removed from the list are:

For its part, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed this announcement with a statement in which it said, “The decision comes as a continuation of the partial lifting of the measures imposed by Japan on Syria since 2011, which began in May 2025, and constitutes a positive step that reflects Japan’s appreciation for the developments taking place in Syria and the efforts of its government in the path of recovery and state building, and its keenness to develop bilateral relations. It stressed that the decision contributes to enabling national institutions to perform their role.” Consolidating security and stability, and supporting recovery and reconstruction efforts.”