‘We Truly Feel Japan’s Support,’ Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Says

Eisuke Mori, speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, became the first holder of the position to speak in the Ukrainian parliament’s plenary chamber on Tuesday, Sept. 15.Mori met with Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada during his visit to Kyiv, where the two discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and holding Russia accountable for its full-scale invasion.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Today, Eisuke Mori came to the Verkhovna Rada wearing a vyshyvanka. For me, this was more than a gesture – it was a deeply personal sign of respect for Ukraine and solidarity with our people,” Stefanchuk said in a Facebook post.Japan’s ongoing support for UkraineThroughout the five years of war, Japan has emerged as one of Ukraine’s key partners, providing political backing and long standing financial and humanitarian support, which has already exceeded $20 billion.“We truly feel Japan’s support. We see it not only in words, but also in concrete actions,” the Verkhovna Rada chairman said.In his address to lawmakers, Mori highlighted the countries’ mutual support, recalling Ukraine’s support for Japan after the 2011 earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. The accident followed a 15-meter tsunami that disrupted power supplies and reactor cooling systems at the plant.Years of cooperationCooperation between Ukraine and Japan currently runs through the fifth phase of the Emergency Recovery Programme, with a budget of roughly $38.5 million. Other Topics of Interest Sweden May Change Prime Minister, But Support for Ukraine Remains Strong Magdalena Andersson is positioned to return as prime minister, but coalition talks remain unresolved. For Kyiv, Sweden’s broad political support offers continuity. The program covers infrastructure, water systems, the maritime sector, healthcare, and agriculture.In April, Ukraine received a $1.3 billion grant from Japan – the country’s second such disbursement funded by profits from frozen Russian assets under the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative.On May 30, Japan contributed $14.7 million to NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to fund non-lethal equipment for Ukraine.Through the week of Aug. 10-16, Ukrainian authorities held a series of meetings with Japan’s then-outgoing Ambassador to Ukraine, Masashi Nakagome, centering their discussions on police and lab equipment donations, as well as heating infrastructure and a possible Japanese role in Ukraine’s Drone Deal initiative.Separately, Japan funded vehicles for Ukraine’s “Barrier-Free Driving Schools” – a program that provides people with disabilities – including former soldiers that lost limbs or civilians wounded by Russia’s war – access to driver’s education and retraining on hand-controlled vehicles.Additionally, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided vehicles for public danger alerts, mobile workshops and remote explosive-detection systems to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES).On. Aug. 11, Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport, Mykola Kalashnyk, met with Nakagome. Their talks centered on preparations for the upcoming winter, including the deployment of modular boiler houses in the Lviv, Kyiv, and Kherson regions with a combined capacity exceeding 400 megawatts (MW), as well as the creation of a reserve of water and wastewater equipment.Around the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed Kuril Islands, further aggravating Japan-Russia tensions over the decades-long territorial dispute. The diplomatic ties between the two countries have also been strained by Japan’s participation in Western sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine.In 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree formally recognizing the islands as Japanese territory under temporary Russian occupation. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.