Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is heading to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The trip is intended to show Japan’s solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine under President Zelenskyy’s leadership, as well as its commitment to defending the rules-based international order. Kishida is also expected to express his absolute rejection of Russia’s one-sided change to the status quo through invasion and force. Due to its pacifist principles, Japan’s support for Ukraine has been limited to non-combative military equipment and humanitarian supplies, such as helmets, bulletproof vests, and drones, as well as generators. Japan has provided over $7 billion in support to Ukraine and has accepted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians, providing housing assistance and support for jobs and education. Kishida’s visit coincides with Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, where he was warmly welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting Moscow. Kishida’s visit is intended to show Japan’s solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine under President Zelenskyy’s leadership, and his commitment to defending the rules-based international order. He will also express his absolute rejection of Russia’s one-sided change to the status quo through invasion and force. Japan has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia over its invasion and is providing humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine. Kishida is the only G-7 leader who hasn’t visited Ukraine and was under pressure to do so at home. He is expected to offer continuing support for Ukraine when he meets with Zelenskyy.
Kishida, who will chair the Group of Seven summit in May, was riding a train from Poland to Kyiv, as shown by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. His surprise trip to Ukraine comes just hours after he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Due to limitations of Japan’s pacifist constitution, Kishida’s trip was arranged secretly, and he is the first postwar Japanese leader to enter a war zone. Kishida was invited by Zelenskyy in January to visit Kyiv, and he denied a rumor of a possible trip at the end of March, saying that nothing concrete had been decided.
Japan fears the possible impact of a war in East Asia, where China’s military has grown increasingly assertive and has escalated tensions around self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. Kishida’s visit to Ukraine coincides with Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, where he was warmly welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on a visit both nations describe as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was seen boarding a train from the Polish station of Przemysl near the border with Ukraine, with a number of officials, in television footage on NHK. Japan’s support for Ukraine has been limited to non-combative military equipment and humanitarian supplies due to its pacifist principles. Japan has provided over $7 billion to Ukraine and has accepted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians, providing housing assistance and support for jobs and education.
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