TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday announced new $5.5 billion in financial aid to Ukraine and will mark the first anniversary of the war by hosting an online Group of Seven summit with Ukraine’s Commit President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Speaking at a global forum in Tokyo organized by a Japanese think tank, Kishida said Ukraine is still suffering from the Russian invasion and its people need help to rebuild their daily lives and infrastructure, which has been severely damaged by Russian attacks.
As this year’s G-7 president, Kishida said he will host an online summit on Friday that Zelenskyy will attend to celebrate the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. It is the first time that Kishida is hosting a G-7 summit.
Japan has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia for its invasion and providing humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine. Japan was quick to react, fearing possible repercussions from the war in East Asia, where China’s military has grown increasingly assertive and tensions have escalated around self-governing Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
In his speech, Kishida acknowledged that he took a crucial step because “he was very concerned that Ukraine could be the East Asia of tomorrow.”
He said Russia’s invasion is a challenge to the entire rules-based international order, bringing an end to the post-Cold War era. “That’s why I decided to react decisively with sanctions on (Russia).”
Japan has loaned more than 70 billion yen ($520 million) to Ukraine in emergency economic aid. The country has also taken in more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians and helped them with housing assistance, job support and education.
Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
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