Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, has completed a diplomatic tour of Asian countries, with a key stop being a two-day visit to Tokyo. Over 48 hours, the Ukrainian delegation held 18 substantive meetings with Japanese leadership, business representatives, and experts, according to Sybiha on Facebook.
He noted that the main focus of the talks was the transformation of Ukraine’s role on the international stage — from a recipient of aid to a unique and technologically experienced security partner.
“Ukraine needs Japan’s unique experience in post-disaster recovery — earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear incidents, and major war. This concerns financial resources, Japanese technologies, and the involvement of Japanese companies in rebuilding our country and economy. In return, Japan needs Ukraine’s unique experience in protecting lives from modern security threats and effective defense in a modern technological war. 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 North Korea, which supplies weapons and troops to Moscow in exchange for technology, finances, 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 same time as ballistic missiles were flying toward Kyiv. Moreover, Russian strategic bombers were taking off to launch cruise missiles at residential buildings in the Ukrainian capital from relatively near Japan — from a military base in the Amur region. So this war is not as far from Japan as it may seem, both literally and figuratively,” the minister said.
In addition to the talks, the Foreign Minister visited the Setagaya Central Hospital, where a Ukrainian soldier — a father of three — wounded in the Sumy region is undergoing prosthetics and rehabilitation and is expected to return to service in a few weeks. He also thanked sponsors of the Himawari Mental Health Center for supporting the nationwide program under the patronage of First Lady Olena Zelenska, met with the Ukrainian community in Tokyo, and awarded the “Amber Heart” distinction to Orthodox Church of Ukraine Archpriest Father Pavlo.
As reported, during the Ukrainian delegation’s visit to Japan, an agreement was signed between Ukraine and Japan on a scholarship project worth approximately $500,000 under the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS). The agreement will continue the JDS scholarship program, strengthen Ukraine–Japan partnership, enhance the capacity of Ukrainian institutions, and build a community of graduates of Japanese universities capable of applying their knowledge to practical social and economic development tasks in Ukraine.
In addition, the Japanese side expressed its intention to provide support through UNESCO for the restoration of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following a Russian strike.
The two sides held broad discussions on further security cooperation, particularly in the field of advanced drone technologies.
