The Japanese prime minister made history when he visited Ukraine at the same time that Xi Jinping smiled at Putin in Moscow.
It ended somewhat in the shadow of the two authoritarian leaders’ meetings in Moscow, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to Ukraine.
Kishida made history as the first Japanese leader to visit a war zone since World War II.
President Zelensky describes Kishida as a staunch defender of the world order and a good friend of Ukraine.
Japan has a pacifist point of view, and therefore it does not support Ukraine with weapons. But the country has contributed more than seven billion dollars in humanitarian aid, and has accepted 2,000 Ukrainian refugees despite the country’s strict immigration policy.
Unlike China, which did not condemn Russia’s illegal invasion of its neighboring country, Japan was clear from day one.
Experts believe that Kishida’s visit at the same time as Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia has more significance than showing support for Ukraine.
What’s really going on here is China. Japan is doing this because of China’s aggressiveness in the region, and Japan is signaling by this that it will resist, analyst David Bowling at the Eurasia Group tells Al Jazeera.
He believes that one now sees a more offensive Japan than it was 20 years ago, and that the country no longer stands on the sidelines in the “game of geopolitics”.
Telegraph commentator Francis Dearnley points out that Japan has territorial disputes with both China and Russia. Refers, among others, to the uninhabited Senkaku Islands (dispute with China) and the Kuril Islands (dispute with Russia).
China and Russia also conducted joint military exercises near the Japanese coast recently.
Kishida visited the Bucha region, where Russia committed massacres last year. He laid flowers in the church and honored the victims.
– I was shocked by the atrocity. On behalf of the Japanese people, I would like to express my condolences,” Kishida said, according to Euronews.
Kishida will host the next meeting of the Group of Seven, which will be held in Hiroshima in May. Ukrainian President Zelensky will speak via videoconference.
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