By MAHO YOSHIKAWA/ Staff Writer
March 31, 2022 at 15:54 JST
Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa on March 15 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Japan has canceled sending Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa as the government’s special envoy to Poland over the Ukrainian crisis because he has come into close contact with a novel coronavirus case.
Furukawa was scheduled to visit Poland from April 1 to meet with high-ranking Polish officials and see first-hand the status of people who have fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
Seiji Kihara, deputy chief Cabinet secretary, revealed the cancellation of Furukawa's mission at a Lower House steering committee meeting on March 31.
The central government is considering options such as rescheduling the trip at a later date or keeping the original schedule but sending a vice minister instead.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed Furukawa as a special envoy to Poland ahead of the government’s plan to welcome evacuees from Ukraine to Japan.
The government has considered a plan to transport such people on a government-chartered flight when Furukawa returned to Japan.
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