70 Japanese men answer Kyiv's call for volunteers to fight against Russia
Tokyo, Japan
Published: Mar 02, 2022, 06:10 PM
Sniper teams from the Ground Self-Defence Force's first Airborne Brigade take a break during the Arctic Aurora exercise held with elements of the US Army in Alaska Photograph AFP )
Approximately 70 Japanese men have answered Kyiv's call for volunteers to fight against Russia, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said, quoting a Tokyo company handling the volunteers.
These include 50 former members of Japan's Self-Defence Forces and two veterans of the French Foreign Legion.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy acknowledged receiving calls from people "wanting to fight for Ukraine," but declined to give further details.
A social media post from the embassy thanked Japanese for their many inquiries about volunteering.
"Any candidates for this must have experience in Japan's Self-Defence Forces or have undergone specialised training," it said.
In a new post on Twitter on Wednesday, the Ukrainian embassy in Japan said it was looking for volunteers with medical, IT, communication, or firefighting experience. It was not immediately clear if the volunteer positions were remote or involved travelling to Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine has stirred strong emotions in Japan, which has a post-war pacifist constitution that has been reinterpreted in recent years to allow Japan to exercise collective self-defence or aid allies under attack.
Hundreds gathered for a protest against the Russian invasion last week in Tokyo, while the Ukrainian embassy said it collected $17 million in donations from some 60,000 people in Japan after it put out an online request for help.
Japan has also announced sanctions on Russia, including freezing the assets of Russian groups, banks and individuals and suspending exports of semiconductors and other sensitive goods to military-linked organisations in Russia.
Japan will accept Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's ongoing invasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday, in a break with the country's usual reticence to accept humanitarian arrivals.
Japan typically accepts just a few dozen refugees a year out of thousands of applicants, and its borders are currently closed to virtually all foreign visitors to prevent Covid-19 infections.
But Kishida said the country would now "proceed with a plan to welcome people from Ukraine who have fled to third countries" in a bid to "demonstrate our solidarity with the Ukrainian people at such a crucial moment."
Kishida said Japan expected to first accept those with relatives or friends in the country, "but beyond that, we will respond from a humanitarian perspective," he added without setting a specific cap on arrivals.
He said refugees would be processed outside of the current border regime that bars foreign tourists and limits overseas arrivals.
Japanese billionaire Hiroshi "Mickey" Mikitani said Sunday he will donate $8.7 million to the government of Ukraine, calling Russia's invasion "a challenge to democracy".
The founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten said in a letter addressed to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky that the donation of 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) will go toward "humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of the violence".
Approximately 70 Japanese men have answered Kyiv's call for volunteers to fight against Russia, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said, quoting a Tokyo company handling the volunteers. These include 50 former members of Japan's Self-Defence Forces and two veterans of the French Foreign Legion. A...
www.wionews.com
en.wikipedia.org
