Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Uekawa arrived in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on January 7 for a visit. Source: CCTV Chinese International Official ***
At the beginning of the new year, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Uekawa's visit to Ukraine has attracted widespread attention and great controversy. Yoko Kamikawa arrived in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on January 7 for a visit, making her the first high-level G7 country to visit Ukraine this year.
As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine enters its third year, the United States and the European Union have appeared "fatigue" in aiding Ukraine. Against this backdrop, the choice of the Japanese Foreign Minister for his first international visit in 2024 to Ukraine has naturally aroused widespread concern in the international community. At the end of last year, the US White House warned that aid to Ukraine would run out. The U.S. has been urging allies to join the aid as its stockpiles are "stretched thin" due to continued military aid.
Japan responded positively. In September last year, then-Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi made a surprise visit to Ukraine, emphasizing that Japan will continue to support Ukraine and strengthen sanctions against Russia. On December 25 last year, Ukraine announced that it had received 13$400 million in aid, including $10$8.6 billion loan, which was provided through a trust under a Japanese guarantee.
Kamikawa also made a clear statement this time: The significance of this visit lies in the fact that Japan has directly conveyed Japan's voice to the international community against the backdrop of declining attention to the situation in Ukraine and weak aid to Ukraine.
Japan's assistance to Ukraine includes a pledge of about US$37 million (about 5.3 billion yen) to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)**, five generators and seven large transformers, and a drone monitoring system.
Previously, Japan** approved more than $10 billion in aid to Ukraine, and the equipment provided to Ukraine is non-lethal, including helmets, body armor and military vehicles.
There was a sudden situation during this visit, when Shangchuan held a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba, Kyiv suddenly sounded an air defense siren, and the press conference was temporarily relocated to an underground shelter in Ukraine.
Some analysts pointed out that the Japanese foreign minister also wanted to visit Ukraine in person at great risk because Japan believes that the Ukrainian crisis may change in the near future, and Japan has been eyeing Ukraine's post-war reconstruction. Japan** decided to hold the "Japan-Ukraine Economic Reconstruction Promotion Conference" in Tokyo in February, with the participation of the two countries** and companies, which aims to focus on the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and the deployment at this time will prepare Japanese companies for the rapid entry into Ukraine in the future.
On January 10, in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, people looked at the damaged building. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
Kamikawa's visit to Ukraine has caused huge controversy on Japanese social **. Because when Kamikawa visited Ukraine, it was a time when Japan suffered a major disaster. According to NHK, netizens have accused Japan of rushing to provide equipment to Ukraine despite the disaster area. Some netizens accused "the Liberal Democratic Party of China is an abandoned democratic party" and "Kamikawa actually went to send generators to Ukraine, not to the disaster area." "Until now, no one [in Kishida's cabinet] has been to Noto, but there are cabinet members who have gone to the ...... Ukraine”
On the 11th local time, according to the latest statistics released by Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, 213 people have been killed, 567 injured and 52 people are missing in the Noto area. Due to the slow restoration of water and electricity, the blockage of rescue and snowfall, the living conditions of the people evacuated in the disaster area have not been improved. Due to the overcrowding of some shelters and the difficulty of ensuring safe water, multiple cases of digestive and respiratory infections have been reported in the affected areas, including noro, COVID and influenza viruses.
Source**: Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News, Wen Wei Po, etc.
Popular news client Zhou Yan).