• Kishida unveiled the plan during phone conversations with Mateusz Morawiecki, prime minister of Poland, which neighbors Ukraine

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio said Wednesday that his country will accept some refugees from Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion.

Kishida unveiled the plan during phone conversations with Mateusz Morawiecki, prime minister of Poland, which neighbors Ukraine.

“To demonstrate solidarity with the Ukrainian people, we will proceed to accept those who are seeking refuge in a third country,” Kishida said after the call, adding that the initial focus would be on people with relatives or friends in Japan.

“We are planning to first accept relatives and friends of people living in Japan,” Kishida said. “Beyond that, we’ll respond from a humanitarian point of view.”

“To strongly back Ukraine, we will strengthen coordination with the G7 (Group of Seven main industrialised countries) and the international community,” he told reporters.

Over 870,000 Ukrainians had fled to Poland and other nations as of Wednesday, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Pointing to the ever-rising number of refugees from Ukraine, Kishida said that the Japanese government will act as quickly as possible.

Japan will accept Ukrainian refugees outside of its COVID-19 border entry cap of 5,000 per day.

In his talks with the Polish prime minister, Kishida asked for Warsaw’s cooperation in assisting Japanese nationals who evacuate to Poland from Ukraine by land. Morawiecki pledged his country’s maximum support.

Kishida also held talks over the phone with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the two confirmed that their countries will work together to respond to the Ukraine crisis.

Japan has joined Western countries in slapping economic sanctions on Russia over the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

JIJI Press (with inputs from Reuters)