The Ambassador of Japan: There is one thing that clearly shows the necessity of the UN Security Council reform - the Russian war in Ukraine

Exclusive interview of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda to the Interfax-Ukraine agency

Authors: Oleksandr Martynenko, Valerie Proschenko

Japan will hold the presidency of the G7 in 2023. And as ambassador you will organize work G7 Ambassadors' Support Group for Ukraine. Japan has really rapidly spoken out against Russia's aggression in Ukraine. What kind of assistance can Ukraine expect from Japan in economic, military and humanitarian areas?

Before directly answering your questions, let me briefly explain Japan's basic policy toward this war. Prime Minister Kshida has articulated right after the war that there is no more business as usual with Russia. In other words, we have to completely change our stance toward Russia. And based on that, first, we have embarked on robust sanctions against Russia. And second, as you said Japan started to provide assistance, which covers humanitarian assistance, financial and budget assistance, as well as military assistance.

Now, I think that I need to make a quick footnote when it comes to military assistance. Because of the law, we cannot provide weapons, per se, but instead, it is the first time the Japanese government has decided to provide non-lethal equipment which include drones and helmets and bullet-proof jackets and winter clothes and many other equipment, including personal medical kits and personal ratios. So we continue to expand the list.  And currently we are in a discussion with Ukrainian counterparts about the possibility of providing dual purpose technologies.

The third pillar by which we continue to support Ukraine is diplomatic efforts. In other words, starting from the Prime Minister of Japan and the Embassies,