Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, revealed plans to give $5.5 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine on Monday, “almost quadrupling the sum Tokyo has committed to Kyiv” since the Russian invasion started.
“Japan is in a position to lead the world’s efforts to help Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression and toto uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law,” Kishida said.
Tokyo had earlier promised to provide $700 million in humanitarian relief, including food and medical supplies, and $600 million in cash assistance.
Japan joined the United States and Europe in imposing sanctions on Russia.
The prime minister continued, “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is not simply a European issue; it is a challenge to the rules and ideals of the entire international community.”
According to The Associated Press, the Japanese government responded swiftly to the invasion out of concern for “it fears a possible impact of the war in East Asia, where China’s military has grown increasingly assertive and has escalated tensions around self-ruled Taiwan.”
In addition, Kishida warned that the security of Japan was imminently at risk from North Korea’s expanding arsenal of missiles.
He recognised that he was acting swiftly because of “great worry that Ukraine may be tomorrow’s East Asia” when he made the statement.
A summit of the G7 leaders and the president of the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, will be held online on Friday to mark the invasion’s first anniversary, according to Kishida’s announcement.
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