Japan to accept Ukrainian refugees

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:01 JST, March 3, 2022

Japan will accept Ukrainian refugees who have fled to other countries because of the ongoing conflict in their country, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has revealed.

“First, we have in mind [Ukrainians] who have relatives and acquaintances in Japan. And going beyond that, we plan to respond to the situation from a humanitarian perspective,” Kishida said at the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday.

Kishida informed Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki about the policy during their phone talks on Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have reportedly fled to Poland.

“We’d like to show our solidarity with the Ukrainian people at this crucial stage,” Kishida said. “We will implement the necessary procedures as soon as possible.”

Japan’s daily cap on international arrivals in place because of pandemic measures is not expected to apply to Ukrainian refugees, Kishida said.