Cities in Japan that have sister-city partnerships with cities in Ukraine are voicing their concerns over the safety of local citizens following the recent invasion of the country by Russian troops.
An official of the Kyoto Municipal Government, which has maintained exchanges with Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv for more than 50 years, expressed hopes that “peace will return as soon as possible.”
According to the Kyoto government, the sister city affiliation with Kyiv was first established in 1971. Since then, Ukrainian folk music groups have held joint concerts with Kyoto citizens, while tea ceremony practitioners and teachers from Kyoto have visited Kyiv.
"I am very worried. I hope that peaceful days when we can interact with each other as we have done in the past return soon,” said Satoshi Okamoto, 47, assistant director of the city's office responsible for international exchange.
Yokohama has been a sister city of Odessa, a port city in southern Ukraine, for 65 years. When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in 2011, citizens of Odessa sent donations to areas affected by the disaster via Yokohama in support of the victims and survivors.
In November last year, judo enthusiasts from the two cities took part in an online event to present their skills and performances, in a bid to continue exchanges despite the difficulty of traveling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and long-lasting entry restrictions.
Tsuneo Suzuki, 66, president of the Yokohama Judo Federation, who participated in the event, said the judo skills of participants from Ukraine were very high.
“It made me realize how enthusiastic the judoka from Odessa are about the competition,” he said. “It’s really sad that there is a conflict between Ukraine and Russia, given that judo is flourishing in both countries.”