Twenty Ukrainians yesterday arrived in Tokyo on a government plane with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi after his trip to Poland, as Japan cautiously welcomes those fleeing Moscow’s invasion.
Japan typically accepts just a few dozen refugees a year from thousands of applicants, and while it has cracked open its doors to Ukrainians, it calls them “evacuees” rather than refugees.
The 20 Ukrainians flew with Hayashi from Poland, where he was on a three-day trip to assess how Japan can support Kyiv as it battles Russia’s invasion.
Photo: Reuters
Hayashi visited facilities for Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw and held talks with Polish officials, international humanitarian organizations and civil groups.
“As I observed the severe situation faced by Ukrainians who were forced to flee their country because of the Russian invasion, I have renewed my resolve that Japan should cooperate with international society and provide the utmost assistance so they can return to ordinary lives as soon as possible,” he said.
Hayashi said he was impressed by the high level of care and support being given to refugees in Poland, including food, medical care, counseling for those with trauma and support for children.
“What we observed here will certainly help us plan our support for them in Japan,” he said.
“We learned there were several people who sincerely wished to evacuate to Japan, but had difficulty in securing travel means on their own,” government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference yesterday.
“From a humanitarian point of view, 20 of these people were invited to fly on a government plane,” he said.
After COVID-19 tests on board and necessary arrivals procedures, the Ukrainians were expected to head to their destinations — some to towns where their relatives live, and others to government facilities.
Japan has so far received 404 other Ukrainians, after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last month announced a plan to accept those fleeing the war, Matsuno said.
However, they are not designated as refugees, which would entitle them to stay in the country at least five years before applying for more permanent leave to remain.
Instead, the “evacuees” receive a 90-day visa that can be converted to a one-year status with permission to work.
Japan has joined tough Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion, and yesterday announced an additional US$100 million in humanitarian aid for Kyiv, following another US$100 million donation to Ukraine and neighboring nations announced last month.
In 2020, Japan accepted just 47 refugees and 44 people on humanitarian grounds out of nearly 4,000 applicants, and rights groups have long accused Tokyo of doing too little to help those fleeing conflict.
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