Japan PM Kishida arrives in Kyiv for talks with Zelenskyy

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, broadcaster NHK said.

Representing one of the rich democracies in the Group of Seven, Kishida will voice support and solidarity with Ukraine following the invasion by Russian forces more than a year ago, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Kishida will convey “his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people standing up to defend their homeland,” it said.

Japan will host a G7 summit in Hiroshima in May, and Kishida has previously said that the summit should demonstrate a strong will to uphold international order and rule of law in response to the Ukraine war.

NHK showed footage of Kishida talking to officials as he stood next to a train. He had arrived in Kyiv after boarding a train in the Polish border town of Przemysl.

Kishida will also hold talks with his Polish counterpart before returning to Japan on Thursday, the ministry said.

Prior to leaving for Poland en route to Ukraine, Kishida visited India, where he met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, NHK reported.