You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Ukrainian. (April 2023)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Ukrainian Wikipedia article at [[:uk:Українсько-японські відносини]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|uk|Українсько-японські відносини}} to the talk page.
Japanese-Ukrainian relations are formal diplomatic relations between Japan and Ukraine. Japan extended diplomatic recognition to the Ukrainian state on December 28, 1991, immediately after the breakup of the Soviet Union and full diplomatic relations were established on January 26, 1992.
Embassy of Japan in KyivEmbassy of Ukraine in Tokyo
Trade and economy
From the beginning of 2008, Ukrainian-Japanese relations have improved significantly, with regular exchanges between the two countries sponsored by groups such as InvestUkraine, the Ukrainian-Japanese center and the Japan External Trade Organization.[3] On March 25, 2009, Yulia Tymoshenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine, visited Japan and met with Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan. In a joint statement, they welcomed cooperation in trade, investment and energy conservation, and discussed the effect of the recent economic crisis among other topics.[4]
The balance of trade between Ukraine and Japan is heavily weighed in favor of Ukraine, with Japan exporting steel pipe and automobiles and importing aluminum and food products.[5] In a different form of trade, on July 15, 2008, Japan, a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, agreed to buy greenhouse-gas emission allowances from Ukraine to reach a target set under the U.N. climate-change treaty.[6] The deal was finalized on March 26, 2009.[7]
Japan also has assisted Ukrainian educational and cultural institutions financially in the amount of more than US$4.3 million in the 1998 till 2009 period. Moreover, Japan provided Ukraine with grants of more than $151.8 million.[8]
Japan's support for the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine
Japan has reflected that they are a staunch ally to Ukraine in the midst of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The Japanese government placed sanctions on Russia and Japan was the only East Asian country to do so,[9] although it has been noted that the sanctions were designed in a way to have no real effect and that the Japanese government did not want to jeopardize its relations with Russia. Tokyo criticized Russia, saying that Russia is violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.[10] In addition, the Japanese government has stated that they are willing to provide Ukraine with US$1.5 billion in financial aid when Kyiv agrees to accept and enact various IMF reforms.[11]
In February 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japan imposed sanctions on Russia which prohibited the issuance of Russian bonds in Japan, froze the assets of certain Russian individuals, and restricted travel to Japan.[12] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Japan as the "first Asian nation that has begun exerting pressure on Russia."[13]
On 20 March 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, urged Russia to halt the war in Ukraine immediately and remove its forces, calling the aggression "a grave breach of the United Nations Charter."[14]
At the end of March 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced that it had changed the spelling of the name of the capital of Ukraine so that it would be closer to the Ukrainian pronunciation than to the Russian one. This happened at the request of the Ukrainian authorities. The earlier version was キエフKiefu from the Russian: Киев (Кіевъ), romanized:Kiev, and the current name is キーウKīu from the Ukrainian: Київ, romanized:Kyiv.[15]
On 13 June 2024, along with the United States, Japan has signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine.
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was similar to his predecessor Fumio Kishida, that he has maintained support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion that began in 2022.[17] In February 2025, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani revealed that the Japan Self-Defense Forces would provide approximately 30 additional transport vehicles to the Ukrainian military.[18] After a heated argument between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance during a meeting at the White House that was televised live on 28 February 2025, Ishiba stated that the meeting "took a somewhat unexpected turn and there appears to have been a very emotional exchange of words" and that Japan would "do all it can to prevent divisions between the United States and Ukraine."[19][20]Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, accused Ishiba of not having a 'clear message' regarding the break between Trump and Zelenskyy and not 'doing enough' after divisions began to form between the US and Ukraine and Europe. At a press conference in Ōita, Noda stated that "Prime Minister Ishiba has not sent a clear message. Japan's stance is unclear."[21] In March 2025, Japan adjusted its language on support for Ukraine from “strengthen” to "will maintain” support. The change was made to minimize the difference between Japanese and US policy.[22] That same month, Japanese representatives participated in meetings of the Coalition of the Willing.[23][24] After a meeting between Zelenskyy, several European leaders, and Trump at the White House in August 2025, Ishiba stated that the Japanese government would consider a potential role in providing security guarantees to Ukraine, as part of a wider peace agreement.[25]
On October 30, 2011, the Japanese government raised the number of workers at the embassy in Kyiv from 30 to 36, in order to learn more about how Ukraine dealt with the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, as Japan was still in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
↑ N. Matiaszczyk, Japonia i Korea Południowa wobec rosyjskiej inwazji na Ukrainę [in:] Granice i obszary wpływów w polityce wewnętrznej i relacjach międzynarodowych, Lodz University Press 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
