Japanese Prime Minister in Kyiv

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has arrived in Kyiv for an official visit. Japanese NHK television has released footage from the railway station, where the head of the Japanese government was welcomed by, among others, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhepparova and Japan's Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda, as reported by kommersant.ru.

Previously, there had been no official announcements regarding Kishida's visit to Ukraine. According to the television channel, Kishida received an invitation to visit Ukraine from President Volodymyr Zelensky during a phone conversation in January. It is expected that today, March 21, the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Japan will meet to discuss assistance to Ukraine in the restoration of infrastructure.

This is Kishida's first visit to Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation. It comes against the backdrop of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Russia.