Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha has concluded a diplomatic tour of Asian countries, the key stage of which was a two-day visit to Tokyo. Within 48 hours, the Ukrainian delegation held 18 substantive meetings with the leadership of Japan, business representatives, and expert circles, Sybiha said on Facebook.
He noted that the main vector of the negotiations was the transformation of Ukraine’s role on the international stage — from an aid recipient to a unique and technologically experienced security partner.
"Ukraine needs the unique experience of Japan in post-disaster recovery — earthquakes, tsunamis, a nuclear incident, a major war. This is about financial resources, Japanese technologies, and the involvement of Japanese companies in the reconstruction of our country and economy. In turn, Japan needs the unique experience of Ukraine in protecting lives from modern security threats and effective defense in modern technological warfare. Therefore, in Tokyo, my key proposal to the Japanese side was clear: a new level of security partnership," Sybiha wrote.
The foreign minister emphasized that Russia’s aggression has taken on a global dimension due to the involvement of the DPRK, which supplies Moscow with weapons and troops in exchange for technology, finance, and stolen Ukrainian grain. This creates direct security risks for the Korean Peninsula and the whole of East Asia.
"Our negotiations took place roughly at the time when ballistics were flying towards Kyiv. Moreover, Russian strategic bombers took off to launch cruise missiles at residential buildings in the Ukrainian capital relatively close to Japan — from a military base in the Amur region. So this war is not as far from Japan as it might seem, both literally and figuratively," the minister noted.
In addition to the negotiations, the head of the MFA visited the Setagaya Central Hospital, where a Ukrainian soldier, a father of three children wounded in Sumy region, is undergoing prosthetics and rehabilitation and plans to return to service in a few weeks. He thanked the sponsors of the Himawari Mental Health Center for supporting the all-Ukrainian program under the patronage of First Lady Olena Zelenska, and met with the Ukrainian community in Tokyo, presenting the Amber Heart award to Father Pavlo, a protopriest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
As reported, during the visit of the Ukrainian delegation to Japan, an agreement was signed between Ukraine and Japan on a Scholarship Project worth up to approximately $500,000 from the Japanese JDS Grant Aid. The agreement will allow for the continuation of the JDS scholarship project, strengthening the partnership between Ukraine and Japan, boosting the human resource potential of Ukrainian institutions, and forming a community of Japanese university graduates capable of applying the acquired knowledge to solve practical tasks of Ukraine’s social and economic development.
In addition, the Japanese side expressed its intention to provide support through UNESCO for the restoration of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra after a Russian strike.
The parties held extensive discussions on further security cooperation, particularly in the field of advanced unmanned technologies.
