Photo/Illutration Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, third from left, meets with his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, seated across the table, in Singapore on June 4. (Nobuhiko Tajima)

SINGAPORE--Ukraine’s defense minister called for Japan’s cooperation in the war against Russia, citing Moscow’s effective control over four islands off Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island.

“Ukraine and Japan are under similar circumstances,” Oleksii Reznikov told his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, during a meeting here on June 4.

Reznikov touched on Russia’s annexation of Crimea in southern Ukraine in 2014 and said he believes that the Northern Territories, which were seized by the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II, must have crossed the minds of Japanese.

He said Japan and Ukraine likely share the same desire to liberate a region now under the occupation of a foreign country, adding that they should oust the enemy and put a brake on its threats.

Reznikov also mentioned North Korea’s ballistic missile launches around Japan to underscore the similarities between Japan and Ukraine.

Hamada reiterated that Japan will continue to support Ukraine.

“We are strongly concerned that Ukraine of today may become East Asia of tomorrow and are responding with firm determination,” he told Reznikov.

Hamada said Japan has decided to dispatch about 100 Self-Defense Forces vehicles and provide about 30,000 emergency rations under a new package of support measures to Ukraine.

He also said Japan would accept wounded Ukrainian soldiers at the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital in Tokyo.

Hamada and Reznikov are both visiting Singapore to attend the Asia Security Summit, commonly known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Related News