Japan to Help Ukraine Eradicate Corruption

Jiji Press

13:28 JST, January 5, 2025

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Japanese government will begin a program this year to strengthen law enforcement efforts by the Ukrainian government to eradicate corruption.

It also plans to help Ukraine take judicial system reform measures so that the war-torn country can shed its reputation as a corrupted country and join the European Union.

Last month, Liudmyla Suhak, Ukraine’s deputy justice minister, told Japanese government officials in Tokyo that her country has serious problems in the area of combating corruption.

Praising Japan’s attitude of not tolerating corruption, she showed eagerness to develop cooperation with the Asian country and learn from and make use of the country’s experience.

Ukraine was 104th among 180 countries and regions in the 2023 corruption perceptions rankings by Transparency International, an international nongovernmental organization. Critics say that a lack of progress in the corruption issue is affecting Ukraine’s efforts to join the EU and win support from various countries to counter Russia’s invasion.

World Bank and other estimates as of the end of 2023 put Ukraine’s reconstruction costs at $486 billion over the next 10 years.

But a Japanese government official said, “If the situation remains unchanged, a substantial amount of money may go into the pockets of high-ranking bureaucrats.”

Japan, 16th in the same rankings, has provided support for legal system development including anticorruption measures to more than 10 countries over the past 30 years.

In view of this, Ukraine asked for Japan’s help in January last year. In August the same year, then Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi visited the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and signed a memorandum of cooperation focusing on anticorruption measures and judicial reform.

Spending of ¥275 million has been included in the government’s fiscal 2025 draft budget to support the development of legal systems in Ukraine.

The government hopes to start concrete support measures within 2025 after holding working-level talks with Ukraine until spring.

Specifically, it is considering holding training sessions and seminars in Japan and Ukraine to develop human resources for law enforcement organizations as well as stationing Japanese government officials in Ukraine.

Ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine next month, momentum for a ceasefire is growing in the international community.

A senior Justice Ministry official said, “We need to produce results as soon as possible before [Ukraine] enters a reconstruction phase.”