Japan PM Fumio Kishida’s ‘necessary’ surprise visit to Kyiv receives strong domestic support ahead of G7 Summit

Kishida is the last leader of the G7 nations to visit Kyiv since the war began, and the trip comes ahead of Japan hosting the G7 summit in May

Analysts say Japan is unlikely to send weapons to Ukraine, even as it promises more financial aid and non-lethal military equipment including supplies

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) for three-hour talks in Kyiv on March 21, 2023. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 5:55pm, 22 Mar 2023Updated: 6:04pm, 22 Mar 2023

The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s surprise visit to Ukraine this week has received broad-based domestic support, with observers saying the trip was a “necessary step” before the world’s third largest economy hosts the Group of Seven (G7) summit next month.

Western leaders have also largely welcomed Kishida’s talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which arguably took some focus from President Xi Jinping’s meeting in Moscow with Vladimir Putin around the same time.

“I expect Kishida went for two primary reasons; the first being that Japan is about to chair the G7 meeting and Ukraine will dominate those talks. After [US President] Joe Biden went to Kyiv earlier this year, the Japanese leader was the only head of a G7 state not to visit,” said James Brown, a professor of international relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple University.

Kishida announced the provision of US$5.5 billion in additional financial assistance to Kyiv, along with US$30 million in non-lethal military equipment. Photo: AFP

There are reports that Kishida has long wanted to visit Kyiv and plans were in place on at least two occasions last year but ultimately fell through.

“With the summit coming up, it was getting a bit embarrassing,” Brown told This Week in Asia, adding that far more came out of the visit than most analysts expected.

“Simply going there is an important indicator of Japan’s support, but the added assistance that Kishida announced is quite impressive.”

Kishida announced the provision of US$5.5 billion in additional financial assistance to Kyiv, along with US$30 million in non-lethal military equipment, including medical supplies, helmets and specialised equipment to detect and neutralise landmines, but there are no suggestions that Tokyo is planning to provide Ukraine with anything more potent for its efforts to resist the Russian invasion.