TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will visit Belgium between Wednesday and Friday, his ministry said Tuesday.

Hayashi is set to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrial nations and a meeting of NATO members and their partner countries, both scheduled for Thursday in Brussels, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Participants at the meetings are expected to discuss further sanctions against Russia, which continues its invasion of Ukraine, following the discovery of numerous bodies believed to be those of civilians near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, after Russian troops left the area.

Hayashi had just returned home on Tuesday after completing a five-day trip to Poland in place of Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

After staying in Japan for the night, Hayashi will leave for Europe again, from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

JIJI Press