Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on April 4 (Koichi Ueda)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on April 4 condemned Russia over reports of its forces slaughtering civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv.

“I am deeply shocked at the fact that on the outskirts of Kyiv terrible atrocities have been perpetrated against civilians,” Kishida said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.

“The killing of innocent civilians violates international humanitarian law,” he said about the gruesome images coming out of the town now that Russian troops have left.

“It is absolutely intolerable and Japan condemns it in the strongest terms,” he added. “Russia must be held strictly accountable for those acts.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno echoed the sentiment at a news conference on April 4, calling on Russia to account for the atrocities. 

“It appears a war crime has been committed,” Matsuno said, citing that the Japanese government has referred the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

“It has been coming out that grisly acts were committed against civilians, one after another,” Matsuno said. “We hope the ICC prosecutors conduct a thorough investigation.”

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