Tokyo: The Japanese government plans to reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv by the end of this month, seven months after the embassy was closed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it was learned Monday.

Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda will return to Kyiv soon, and the government plans to resume embassy operations in stages, according to informed sources.

Following the start in February of the Russian invasion, Japan closed the embassy on a temporary basis on March 2 and transferred its functions to a temporary liaison office set up in the western Ukraine city of Lviv.

The embassy functions were later moved to Rzeszow in southeastern Poland as the situation was escalating.

Matsuda visited Kyiv between Aug. 22 and Sept. 4, meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other senior officials to exchange views on safety and other issues that need to be addressed for the embassy’s reopening.

Based on a report from the ambassador, the Japanese government has considered whether it can reopen the embassy there, and now believes that it can secure the embassy’s safety through measures such as putting guards.

Japan is the only Group of Seven nation that has yet to reopen its embassy in Kyiv.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Shmyhal in New York on Sept.

22 and held phone talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

The Ukraine side expressed hope for Japan to reopen its embassy.

Through the reopening of the embassy, the Japanese government aims to enhance its information gathering in Ukraine.

It also hopes to show its strong support for Ukraine before it hosts a G-7 summit next year.

JIJI Press