Russia’s war on Ukraine, now in its second month, has drawn full-throated denunciation from Japan in line with the United States and its Western allies.
Within hours of the invasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida implemented strong sanctions against the regime of Vladimir Putin, ramped up aid and supplies to Ukraine, and, in tandem with its Western allies, brought significant diplomatic pressure to bear on Putin’s Russia. These governmental initiatives were accompanied by an outpouring of concern from the Japanese public, who left their homes en masse to march in the largest anti-war rallies since the Beheiren protests during the U.S.-Vietnam War of the 1960s and 1970s.
The most recent initiative in this regard is the evacuation of 20 Ukrainian nationals to Japan that was led by Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi who returned from his tour of Europe on April 5. This was followed up by declarations by government officials that the new entrants would be afforded every form of aid, whether financial or material, necessary for them to reside in Japan. The secretary in charge of human rights and issues for foreign national at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has gone on record stating that mental health assistance would be provided to the new refugees.