Ukraine Envoy: Kishida Visit Very Important

Jiji Press

17:04 JST, February 25, 2023

TOKYO — Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky said Friday that it is “extremely important” that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Ukraine.

Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo, Korsunsky said that it is extremely important that the leader of this year’s Group of Seven chair sees the current situation “with his own eyes.”

Kishida is the only G-7 leader who has yet to visit Ukraine since Russia’s invasion a year ago.

“I’m sure the prime minister will go at the appropriate time,” said U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who joined Korsunsky at the press conference.

Korsunsky said that while it would be “very important” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May in person, this would depend on the situation in Ukraine.

While Japan is not supplying Ukraine with weapons, the amount of humanitarian support it has provided Ukraine so far is “absolutely stunning,” Korsunsky said.

Noting Japan’s recovery from World War II and the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, he voiced hopes for Japanese assistance for reconstruction in Ukraine.

Emanuel hailed Japan’s decision to provide Ukraine with $5.5 billion in financial aid as “a significant step.”