Japan’s move to bar most used-car sales to Russia slammed the brakes on a trade nearing $2 billion annually, according to trade data and market participants. In early August, Japan’s government banned exports of all but subcompact cars to Russia. It cut off a lucrative backchannel in trade in used Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans for a network of brokers and smaller ports, especially Fushiki, an export hub on the Sea of Japan.
