By YUKA HONDA/ Staff Writer
February 24, 2022 at 15:46 JST
Ukrainian residents stage a rally outside the Russian Embassy in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Feb. 23 to protest Russia’s recent military buildup on the border. One protestor holds a placard that reads “Hands off Ukraine, Putin!” (Yosuke Fukudome)
Ukrainian residents in Japan staged a rally outside the Russian Embassy in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Feb. 23 to express their fears of an imminent invasion of their country by Russia.
They condemned Russia’s recent military buildup along the border and in unison chanted, “Let’s protect Ukraine!” Protesters waved their country’s national flag and raised placards that said, “No War” or “STOP Putin.”
In total, around 40 people joined the protest. They included Ukrainians and Japanese who have studied in Ukraine.
A 24-year-old Ukrainian engineer living in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward used social media to spread word of the rally to get people to take part.
A 45-year-old interpreter who lives in the port city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture adjacent to Tokyo said she heeded the call because she feared the world wouldn’t know what is happening in Ukraine unless people raised their voices in protest.
She also expressed strong support for moves by Japan and Western nations to impose severe economic sanctions against Russia.
Japan had 1,865 Ukrainian residents as of December 2020, according to the Justice Ministry.
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