Japan’s Yomiuri Bureau Chief Gives Lecture After Receiving Journalist Award; Speaks About Exclusive Interview with Zelenskyy

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, April 1, 2024

Koya Ozeki, chief of The Yomiuri Shimbun General Bureau of Europe, gave a lecture as one of the recipients of the 2023 Vaughn-Uyeda Memorial International Journalistic Prize at the Japan Newspaper Museum in Yokohama on Sunday.

The prize is awarded to journalists who have produced outstanding articles on international affairs. During his talk, Ozeki spoke about his exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March 2023, amid Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

According to Ozeki, Zelenskyy said during the interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to pause the conflict. However, Zelenskyy thought that such a pause would not signify an end to the war. The Ukrainian president said people were still being killed and, if there was a pause, there was a possibility that Putin could come back after a few years.

“At the time of the interview, comments about a ceasefire were extremely rare, so it really stuck with me,” Ozeki said.

Regarding his reasoning for wanting to do the interview, Ozeki said, “I believed there was unconditional value in documenting the firsthand accounts of those involved in historical events.”

Ozeki also mentioned that he was given permission to conduct the interview with the president just two days before it took place.

Ryosuke Endo, another recipient of the same prize and deputy chief of The Sankei Shimbun’s international news department and editorial writer, also gave a lecture on the day.