TOKYO: Donations for supporting people in Ukraine, under attack by Russia, are increasing at an unusually rapid pace in Japan.

The amount of money donated to the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo, nonprofit organizations and other entities is already large compared with donations made in response to natural disasters and other crises in the past.

A total of some 2 billion yen was donated from over 60,000 people by Tuesday to a bank account that the Ukrainian Embassy opened on Friday shortly after Russia fully began its invasion of Ukraine.

Donors have posted messages, such as “I hope I can be of help no matter how little,” through their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The embassy expressed its “heartfelt gratitude to Japanese friends” for giving support to Ukrainians when they are in trouble.

In a meeting Tuesday with Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Kenta Izumi, Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky said he really feels the impact of support from Japanese people.

Explaining that the money will be used for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction projects, the ambassador expressed hope that the war will end as soon as possible.

He also showed expectations for the Japanese government’s assistance to rebuild the country.

On Monday, Rakuten Group Inc. started collecting emergency donations. The money, already surpassing 200 million yen as of Tuesday, will be used for humanitarian assistance through the Ukrainian government and the Japan Committee for UNICEF.

The cybermall operator solicits donations in times of disasters from 2011. The amount gathered this time is the second largest, following 668 million yen garnered following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan hard.

Rakuten Group President, Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani already announced a personal donation of 1 billion yen to the Ukrainian government.

Peace Winds Japan, a nonprofit organization offering humanitarian assistance, collected over 20 million yen in donations, far above its target, through such means as crowdfunding between Friday and Tuesday.

“Unlike donations in the past, the initial momentum is kept up this time apparently due to the impact of media reports and social media posts,” said an official of the organization, based in the Hiroshima Prefecture town of Jinsekikogen, western Japan.

JIJI Press