Speech of Yevhen Perebyinis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the Fifth Ukraine-Japan Forum “Strengthening the Special Global Partnership. Ukraine and Japan on the Path to Victory and a Just Peace,” held on March 5, 2025.

First of all, I would like to thank the New Europe Center for organizing this event, which has established itself as one of the largest platforms for discussing topical issues of cooperation between Ukraine and Japan.

Despite the geographical distance that separates our countries, Japan is one of Ukraine’s key partners today. We are strongly united by common democratic values and similar approaches to addressing the global challenges the world is facing today. World security is universal, and therefore, there is a close interconnection between what is happening in Ukraine, Europe and the threats facing other regions of the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific.

The North Korea factor was mentioned today. It is a serious issue that poses a threat, including to Japan.

We are deeply grateful that from the first day of the Russian aggression, Japan has strongly supported Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Today, Japan is one of the leading donors of financial and humanitarian aid to our country: the total amount of support has exceeded USD 15 billion.

In addition to financial assistance, the Japanese government is actively contributing to the restoration of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Japan has consistently supported Ukraine in the international arena – in the Group of Seven, the UN, international financial institutions, and in dialogue with the countries of the Global South.

Ukraine greatly appreciates Japan’s leadership in consolidating sanctions pressure on the aggressor: the 27 sanction packages adopted significantly weaken Russia’s ability to continue the war.

In addition to economic sanctions, Japan has supported international initiatives aimed at bringing the aggressor state to justice. We very much hope that our Japanese friends will continue to put pressure on Russia, limiting any opportunities for it to circumvent the sanctions regime.

As I have already said, Japan also plays an important role in providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine – medical equipment, support for IDPs, and educational projects.

Cooperation in humanitarian demining, where Japan is one of the largest suppliers of specialized mechanized vehicles, is extremely important. We are grateful to Japan for its willingness to host the International Conference on Mine Action in Tokyo this year. I am sure it will be an extremely successful conference.

An equally important aspect of our partnership is economic cooperation. Japan is an important trading partner for Ukraine, and we are working together to create favorable conditions for the expansion of trade relations, in particular through the introduction of a free trade regime.

Japan is a world leader in innovation. Its experience can significantly contribute to Ukraine’s post-war recovery, particularly in the areas of clean energy, infrastructure, and digital technologies. Therefore, Ukraine is particularly interested in deepening cooperation in this area.

We are grateful to Japan for the opportunity to represent Ukraine at the World Expo 2025. I am convinced that our country’s active participation in this event will be an important political signal to the international community and will help intensify business contacts between our countries.

I would like to emphasize that the active development of bilateral political dialogue is a vivid example of friendly relations and a strong partnership between our countries. In recent years, it has gained unprecedented momentum in the history of our relations.

In 2023, the historic visits of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Japan and the Prime Minister of Japan to Ukraine gave a new impetus to the development of our relations.

In 2024, active dialogue continued, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy having numerous conversations with Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba, and visits by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko to Japan.

Dialogue at the level of ministers of foreign affairs, defense, energy, economy, education, information policy, justice, and others, as well as interaction at international organizations, is intense.

Active contacts take place on the parliamentary track. In particular, in 2024, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament, Fukushiro Nukaga.

Japan is demonstrating true friendship and genuine partnership in the most difficult time for Ukraine. Its support is not only a significant contribution to our fight for freedom, but also a contribution to our future cooperation.

The aggressor is well aware of the effectiveness of Japan’s actions, as evidenced by the unprecedented sanctions recently imposed on Japan’s foreign minister and many leading diplomats. I know that some of them are present at this event today. Thank you very much for your support and your position. We really appreciate it and will never forget it.

Ukraine, like no other, wants the war to end, not by making concessions to the aggressor, but by achieving a just and sustainable peace. This means the full restoration of our sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders under the UN Charter.

Today, to achieve sustainable peace, Ukraine needs reliable support from its partners and strong security guarantees. I am convinced that Japan will continue to play an important role in consolidating the efforts of our allies to establish a just peace and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

Looking at the ambitious titles of the panels and the extremely representative and strong lineup of panelists, I do not doubt that today’s event will make a significant contribution to developing new approaches and generating new ideas for the development of our partnership with Japan. I thank the organizers once again for this. As always, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready to work closely with the expert community of both countries to fully consider and implement your suggestions and recommendations. This is in the interests of our countries and our peoples.

More information about the V Ukraine-Japan Forum can be found at this link: https://neweurope.org.ua/en/tsentr-nova-yevropa-proviv-v-forum-ukrayina-yaponiya/