Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a new $5.5 billion financial aid package for Ukraine.
He also said Tokyo would mark the first anniversary of the war by hosting an online G-7 summit with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy .
Speaking at a global forum in Tokyo organized by a Japanese think tank, Kishida said Ukraine continues to suffer from the Russian invasion and its people need help to restore daily life and infrastructure that was badly damaged by the Russian attacks.
As G7 president this year, Kishida said he would host an online summit on Friday with an invitation to Zelenskyyy to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. This will be the first G7 summit chaired by Kishida.
Japan has been quick to react as it fears the possible repercussions of a war in East Asia, where the Chinese military is increasingly asserting itself and escalating tensions around autonomous Taiwan, which Beijing considers as part of its territory.
In his speech, Kishida acknowledged that he had taken a drastic step due to a strong fear that Ukraine could become the East Asia of tomorrow.
According to him, the Russian invasion is a challenge to the entire rules-based international order that threatens -Cold War era.
“That’s why I decided to respond decisively to Russia with sanctions,” Kishida said.
Japan has granted more than $520 million in loans to Ukraine as part of emergency economic assistance.
The country has also hosted more than 2,000 Ukrainian refugees and helped them with housing, employment and education.
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