Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal attend the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction in Tokyo on Feb. 19. (Pool)

Hampered by its pacifist Constitution on offering military assistance, Japan is instead focusing on providing Ukraine with economic support from both the public and private sectors.

At the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction in Tokyo on Feb. 19, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to provide support over the long term, calling it “an investment for the future.”

To stimulate corporate investment in Ukraine, Kishida said a new treaty would be signed to lower tax rates for those companies that decide to invest in the country.

After the Russian invasion started two years ago, Japan has provided a total of $8.6 billion (about 1.3 trillion yen) in support to Ukraine, including fiscal measures such as loan guarantees.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who attended the conference, thanked Japan as the fourth largest contributor of support.

But the amount needed to rebuild Ukraine is astronomically high.

According to the World Bank, over the next decade, a total of $486 billion (about 73 trillion yen) will be needed.

That means support from the private sector will be vital.

While the government announced a new measure to provide 15.8 billion yen for minesweeping and dealing with unexploded ordnance, many of the 56 bilateral documents reached with Ukraine involve participation by Japanese companies.

The government will provide support to such companies through government-affiliated agencies, such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance.

Because of legal restraints on Japan for providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, its emphasis has been on economic support measures.

Kishida has long stressed that support toward Ukraine was very important because “today’s Ukraine could become tomorrow’s East Asia,” a clear reference to concerns about China attempting to apply military pressure on its neighbors, particularly Taiwan.

But with increasing concerns being raised in the West about continuing to provide huge amounts of support to Ukraine, some within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are also beginning to question whether the government should continue with its support measures.

At an LDP committee meeting on Feb. 15, one lawmaker asked why Japan should continue to provide support when reports showed Ukraine failing to meet its military objectives.

Others said that the focus should be on providing reconstruction measures to help the Noto Peninsula area devastated by the New Year’s Day earthquake.

The companies that are participating in the bilateral measures agreed to on Feb. 19 see a business opportunity.

However, with fighting continuing in many parts of Ukraine, it remains to be seen how many Japanese businesspeople can actually travel to the country to implement the documents.

Government sources said limited access would be allowed for company officials to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Due to the fighting, all of Ukraine remains at the highest level of danger, with the government recommending that Japanese nationals leave the nation.

(This article was written by Anri Takahashi, Taro Kotegawa, Hideki Aota, Kenta Nakamura and Daisuke Hirabayashi.)

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