Politics & Government

Japan Provides Ukraine with Landmine Detectors, Vehicles

From the Foreign Ministry’s X (formerly Twitter) account
Kiyoto Tsuji, center, deputy minister for foreign affairs, is seen in Kyiv on Monday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, November 23, 2023

Two Japanese deputy ministers on Monday attended a ceremony in Kyiv to mark Japan’s handover of landmine-removal equipment to Ukraine.

Kiyoto Tsuji, deputy minister for foreign affairs, and Kazuchika Iwata, deputy minister of economy, trade and industry, attended the ceremony in which Japan provided Ukraine with 50 landmine detectors and 40 vehicles to transport the devices.

“Landmine removal is among the priority issues for restoring and reconstructing Ukraine,” Tsuji said during the ceremony.

Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economy, expressed gratitude to the Japanese government.

Russian forces have buried a vast number of landmines in Ukraine, primarily in Russian-occupied areas. The Japanese government has previously offered landmine removal assistance to other countries, including Cambodia.

During their trip, the two Japanese deputy ministers also exchanged opinions with officials of commerce and industry chambers of Ukraine.

Also, officials of 10 Japanese companies who accompanied the vice ministers and representatives from local companies discussed the need for projects proposed by the Japanese side, such as conducting research into the need for road repairs and the introduction of wind power generation systems.