Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday for a surprise visit.
MP with AFP
© DAVID MAREUIL / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP
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IJapan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday for a surprise visit, Japan’s foreign ministry said.
Fumio Kishida will “convey to President Zelensky his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people who defend their home under his leadership, as well as the unfailing solidarity and support for Ukraine from Japan and the G7”, including the country of Asia is hosting this year, the ministry said in a statement.
The Japanese prime minister was the only leader from the group yet to have been to Kyiv since the Russian invasion in February 2022. He was regularly called upon to visit Ukraine. In February, US President Joe Biden also made a surprise visit to kyiv.
Japanese television NHK said its reporters in Poland filmed a car carrying the prime minister to the town of Przemysl, from where foreign officials often boarded a train to Ukraine.
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“The convoy entered Przemysl station and parked in front of a platform used by international trains to Ukraine. Prime Minister Kishida alighted from the first car of the convoy and boarded the last carriage of the train,” she added. According to the channel, the train left at 1:30 a.m. (0330 GMT).
Mr. Kishida had repeated that this trip was “under study”, government sources mentioning to Japanese media concerns in terms of security and logistical challenges. He becomes the first Japanese prime minister to visit a war zone since the end of World War II.
A particular timing
His visit comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Moscow for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and, at the center of discussions, the conflict in Ukraine.
Tokyo has joined Western sanctions against Russia and offered help to Kyiv. In February, Japan announced new aid of 5.5 billion dollars (5.1 billion euros) to Ukraine. Tokyo also sent him defensive equipment and offered to welcome those fleeing the conflict.
Japan, however, did not provide military aid, its pacifist constitution obliging it to limit its military capabilities to defensive measures.