Photo/Illutration Flowers, stuffed toys and a T-shirt displayed on a table in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo (Hiroaki Takeda)

Not a day passes without someone or a company showing support for besieged Ukraine through donations or products often bearing the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag, according to the embassy in Tokyo.

Donations and offers of help have been pouring in since the nation was invaded by Russia a week ago, said an official at the Ukrainian Embassy.

The deluge has been so great, the embassy set up a table outside the building for people to leave gifts.

The table was covered with flowers, paper cranes and even a T-shirt with “Pray for Ukraine” written on it. Other items included stuffed toys, likely meant to symbolize the children killed in the fighting.

An 86-year-old woman brought the rough equivalent of 20,000 yen ($174) in euros as a donation.

“A countless number of people come every day with flowers and donations. We are sincerely grateful,” the official said.

An outlet in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward that specializes in lemonade using honey from regions around the world decided to donate part of its sales to the Ukrainian cause.

More customers having been ordering items with ingredients made in Ukraine since the invasion.

But the outlet, inundated with orders and growing difficulties obtaining honey from the war zone, now faces a shortage.

“I pray that peace comes to Ukraine as soon as possible,” said owner Yuki Fujimoto, 27.

A manufacturer of bamboo chopsticks in Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Japan, was sold out in two hours after it offered 150 pairs painted in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

The company, Yamachiku, priced each pair at 1,000 yen and put up 150,000 yen of its own money to make a cash donation of 300,000 yen.

“The peace and democracy that we take for granted can always be taken away,” said Yamachiku executive Shogo Yamasaki, 32, who came up with the idea. “We hope those who purchased our chopsticks will think of Ukraine whenever they use them.”

Kumanojinja shrine in Tokai, Aichi Prefecture, has begun offering “goshuin” seal stamps that contain the “wa” (harmony) character as well as a message that calls for peace in Ukraine and the world. The 500 yen proceeds from each sale will be donated to the embassy.

“There are many people in the world whose daily lives are being threatened by military conflict,” noted Hitomi Banno, 34, a shrine official. “We should not think that this is someone else’s problem.”

(This article was written by Hiroaki Takeda, Keita Yamaguchi and Takuya Miyano.)

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