Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Monday that Japan will offer $5.5 billion in humanitarian aid to war-torn Ukraine, days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
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As this year’s president of G-7 summit, Kishida said that he will host an online summit to be joined by Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy on Friday to mark the anniversary. It will be the first time for Fumo Kishida to host a G-7 summit.
Speaking at a global forum in Tokyo kishida said, Ukraine still suffers under the Russian invasion and its people need help to rebuild their daily lives and infrastructure that has been badly damaged by Russian attacks.
Last year, the country doubled its financial aid for Ukraine from $300 million to $600 million by providing the additional $300 million through the World Bank to help Ukraine’s financial difficulties.
The country has accepted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians and helped them with housing assistance, support for jobs and education, according to Japan’s justice ministry. Japan also signed a 13 billion yen loan agreement with Ukraine last year.
Japan has joined the United States and European nations
Japan has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia over its invasion and providing humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine. The country was quick to react because it fears possible impact of the war in East Asia, where China ‘s military has grown increasingly assertive and also expanding its rule around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
Kishida said that this decision is made out of concern that “Ukraine may be tomorrow’s East Asia”.
In May 2023, Japan will host the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima.
Leaders of the world’s largest advanced market democracies will meet to discuss the most pressing global concerns. During a conference in Germany last year, kishida said, “We want to show the world a powerful commitment never to repeat the horror of nuclear weapons.
24 February, 2023 will mark the one year of Russian annexation, which led to the thousands of civilian deaths, and extensive infrastructural damage in Ukraine.