Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo has announced its exit from Russia after earlier saying it would continue operations, which drew widespread criticism amid global enterprises quitting en masse as a retaliatory action against the war in Ukraine. “While continuing our UNIQLO business in Russia, it has become clear to us that we can no longer proceed due to a number of difficulties. Therefore, we have decided today to temporarily suspend our operations,” Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, said in a statement on March 10. “Fast Retailing is strongly against any acts of hostility. We condemn all forms of aggression that violate human rights and threaten the peaceful existence of individuals.” The decision comes after Tadashi Yanai, the president of Fast Retailing, said that clothing is a “necessity of life” in an interview with a Japanese newspaper and that the people of Russia “have the same right to live as …