Kishida condemns killing of civilians in Ukraine

Jiji Press

17:29 JST, April 4, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday condemned the killing of people believed to be civilians in towns near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

The comments by Kishida came after Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that the bodies of 410 civilians have been found in Kyiv-area towns that Russian forces withdrew from.

“This is an act of violation of international law and a humanitarian problem,” Kishida told reporters at the prime minister’s office. “We must condemn it harshly,” he said.

“We will do what our country needs to do in cooperation with the international community,” he said, suggesting that Japan will consider additional sanctions on Russia.

Speaking at a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, “It has become more evident that innocent civilians were repeatedly subjected to atrocious acts.”

Voicing hopes on the International Criminal Court’s investigation on war crimes, Matsuno added that such acts are “against international humanitarian law and absolutely unacceptable.”