Russia opted to wage full-scale war against neighboring Ukraine by staging airstrikes across the country while its troops invaded from multiple flanks in the south, north and east. The death toll is mounting.

The invading forces are advancing toward Kyiv, the capital, and other major cities. Russia is clearly intent on gaining control of the entire country.

In his speech to declare the start of military operations, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied trying to occupy Ukrainian territory. How many times is he going to lie to the world? He must stop the attack immediately and withdraw all his forces from Ukraine.

The crisis is testing the resolve of the international community, which needs to demonstrate the will to stand against the invasion through specific and effective actions.

Leaders of the Group of Seven major democratic powers issued a joint statement declaring their “unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

It went on the say, “We are united in our support for the people of Ukraine and its democratically elected government.” As the current holder of the G-7 presidency, Germany advocated “a clear and unified response on the part of the world’s most economically powerful democracies.”

As a country that pursues diplomacy focused on promoting universal values like the rule of law, Japan is facing a major test in its commitment to these values. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida needs to steer the nation away from the unprincipled policy toward Russia adopted by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and lay out any agenda that is solidly based on democratic values.

Kishida announced an additional set of sanctions against Russia during a Feb. 25 news conference and repeated his condemnation of Moscow’s invasion, saying, “We will not accept a unilateral change to the status quo by force or coercion.”

Kishida also said Japan will freeze assets of individuals and organizations in Russia and those of Russian financial institutions. Other steps include a halt to issuing visas to Russians and export restrictions on semiconductors and other general-purpose products. He said the steps reflect Japan’s strengthened cooperation with other G-7 members and democratic countries.

But he should not forget that Japan has made inconsistent responses to Russia’s strong-arm diplomacy in recent years.

When Russia annexed Crimea eight years ago, the Abe administration imposed sanctions against Moscow, but they were weaker and more limited in scope than the steps taken by the United States and Europe.

With his sights set on Tokyo’s negotiations with Moscow over the Northern Territories, a group of islands off Hokkaido occupied by Russia but claimed by Japan, Abe held a series of meetings with Putin and promoted economic cooperation with Russia.

Abe’s expedient approach to dealing with Russia was a disturbing example of disunity among the G-7 powers. But Kishida appears to be intent on carrying on this approach.

In January, when Russia was already building up troops in areas near the border with Ukraine, Kishida announced plans to expand Japan’s cooperation with Russia in the energy sector in his policy speech at the Diet.

Changing the status quo by force is unacceptable, not just in East Asia but as a basic rule of the international community. Japan’s arguments concerning territorial disputes and other diplomatic issues will carry little weight unless it adopts a consistently tough stance against any lawless behavior in Europe as well.

Kishida should start by scrapping the post of minister in charge of economic cooperation with Russia established by the Abe administration.

The international security landscape is becoming increasingly fraught with risks and uncertainties. This requires Japan, the United States and Europe to work harder to build a broad international coalition by including other major democracies such as Australia and India.

This coalition should be based on common principles like the rule of law. Japan should never lose sight of these guiding principles for its diplomacy.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 26