Top Japanese diplomat makes unannounced visit to Ukraine

ANKARA

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Saturday arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit, his first since Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.

Hayashi will hold talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to reiterate Japan’s “unwavering support” to Kyiv, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

The two are also expected to discuss a Japan-Ukraine investment conference focusing on the war-torn country’s economic recovery and reconstruction.

In March, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Kyiv and held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.