Chief Executive Carrie Lam may face freeze-out by Japanese banks as Tokyo hinted to domestic banks with operations in the U.S. to adopt measures consistent with Washington’s sanctions.

The Japanese government made a statement on Tuesday in response to a written question from a member of parliament Jin Matsubara, a keen supporter of Hong Kong independence.

Matsubara asked whether domestic financial groups should follow the policies of their overseas offices and refrain from dealing with Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam, who has been sanctioned by the U.S.

The government said it would not comment on individual cases, but the Ministry of Finance is in the process of requiring Japanese financial groups that have overseas offices to formulate a consistent set of measures “as a group” for managing clients.

The groups should formulate such measures based on Japan’s Guideline regarding Measures against Money Laundry and Funding of Terrorism and consider the fact that laws and regulations on sanctions in other countries may be stricter than those at home, said the statement.

“My understanding is that the Japanese government has instructed Japanese banking groups with operations in the U.S. not to deal with those designated for sanctions by the U.S., even outside the U.S. jurisdiction,” Matsubara told South China Morning Post.

Matsubara believed that the blacklist would extend to 10 other Hong Kong and Chinese officials who were also on the U.S. sanctions list announced in August. The move would likely spark anger from Beijing, he added.

Former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Nok-hin said the actions taken by Tokyo would further affect the reputation of the sanctioned officials and might encourage other countries to follow suit.

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