Japan has announced the creation of a coordinating council for the reconstruction of Ukraine, aiming to involve both Ukrainian and Japanese businesses. This was reported by Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Hiromasa Nakano, during a meeting with the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, and members of the Ukrainian delegation.
Also participating in the meeting were Deputy Ministers of Economy of Ukraine, Tetiana Berezhna and Andriy Teliupa; Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, Serhiy Derkach; Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine, Edem Adamov; and the Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Serhiy Tkachuk.
“We are sincerely grateful to Japan for its willingness to join in the restoration of Ukraine's destroyed infrastructure. Japan has experience in disaster relief, technologies, and production necessary for reconstruction. We are convinced that their expertise will help Ukraine speed up the process of rebuilding the damaged facilities. Minister Hiromasa Nakano stated that Japan is ready to hold the first meeting of the coordinating council, to which representatives of the Ukrainian Government have already been invited. We appreciate our partners for this invaluable support,” said Yulia Svyrydenko.
In addition, the Ukrainian side outlined priorities for cooperation with the Government of Japan regarding infrastructure restoration. Specifically, they urged continued supply of rails to Ukrzaliznytsia for the restoration of railway tracks. Ukraine requires 25,000 tons of steel R-65 rails. Japan has already provided this amount through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which helped restore 200 kilometers of railway tracks in 2023-2024.
Among the other priority projects are the restoration of residential infrastructure using advanced Japanese technologies and innovations, experience exchange for training specialists in the transport sector, and other projects.
“It is important that we are already developing concrete coordination mechanisms in the area of reconstruction. This will enable direct interaction regarding the priorities and needs of reconstruction at both the governmental level and the private sector level, whose role in the restoration process is equally important. We expect that the coordinating council will become an effective mechanism for attracting support for rebuilding critical infrastructure, the transport sector, social facilities, and housing,” emphasized Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development.
The parties also discussed how Japan and Ukraine can foster the involvement of Japanese companies in Ukraine's reconstruction and what tools the private sector needs from the governments of both countries.
