Ukrainian Evacuees Trying to Make Most of Life in Japan; Displaced Ukrainian Mother Sets Roots with Sons

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:25 JST, February 25, 2025

Olga Nasiedkina, 35, from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine is trying to put down roots in Japan with her two children. She is a temp employee at the Kamagaya city office in Chiba Prefecture.

In July 2022, she and her two sons evacuated from Kyiv. The Kamagaya municipal government offered Nasiedkina the job. She now writes a column for a municipal bulletin and holds lectures on Ukrainian culture.

In December 2023, the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law came into effect, providing displaced individuals from Ukraine with support comparable to that given to refugees. If granted long-term resident status, they can stay in Japan for up to five years and possibly obtain a permanent resident visa.

Nasiedkina was granted long-term residency last year.

Her parents remain in a city in the Donetsk region. Russian forces are believed to have taken over the city in January after several months of fighting. She was able to speak with them over the phone for a few minutes earlier this month.

Nasiedkina said that her parents have no water or gas but assured her that everything was fine. However, her anxiety only grew. In obvious pain, she expressed her desire to confirm their safety as soon as possible, but returning to Ukraine amid the ongoing unpredictable conflict is dangerous.

As Nasiedkina continues to work and study Japanese, her now 8- and 5-year-old sons attend elementary school and preschool. The two joined a local baseball team and love going to the sento public bathhouse. They are growing while becoming accustomed to life in Japan.

Nasiedkina wants to make the most of their life in Japan, which took them in.