Japan PM makes Surprise Visit to Ukraine to Meet Prez Zelensky

Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit to Ukraine’s Kyiv on Tuesday for summit talks with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.

During his visit to Kyiv, Kishida is set to directly convey to Zelensky Japan and other Group of Seven (G7) nations’ “solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine” while “firmly rejecting Russia’s aggression and unilateral attempts to change of the status quo by force,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the visit.

Kishida, left for Ukraine from India. He boarded a train for Ukraine train from Poland on Tuesday. According to Kyodo News, he had already entered Ukraine in the early morning local time.

Video shot by reporters in Poland showed Kishida boarding a train car early Tuesday in the town of Przemysl, a station where other G7 leaders have been known to take trains into Ukraine.

Kishida will return to Poland on Wednesday after the talks with Zelensky.

Kishida’s visit comes nearly a month after U.S. President Joe Biden made a secret visit to Kyiv. Kishida administration has strongly backed Kyiv while joining efforts to sanction Russia and aid Ukraine. He will meet with Zelenskyy in person before Japan hosts a meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima in May.