POLICY & DIPLOMACYJAPAN STANDSWITHUKRAINE:KEEPING EDUCATION GOING FOR STUDENTS
In response to Russia’s egregious aggression against Ukraine, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio condemned the act inthe strongest terms, declaring that causing harm to civilians is a clear violation of international law. In Japan, there is a
growing network of support for Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes, and universities have risen to standwith Ukraine and have accepted students from the country. Here is one such example.
“Japan stands with the people of Ukraine in thistime of crisis.” The Government of Japan began
working closely with global society soon after theFebruary 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, adopting
cumulative measures that include financial sanctions
targeting Russian banks, restrictions on imports andexports, revocation of Russia’s “most-favored-nation”
status, and freezing the assets of persons related to thegovernment of Russia including President Vladimir
Putin and Russian business oligarchs. Meanwhile,
Prime Minister Kishida has held summit telephonetalks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

on several occasions, offering food and medical
supplies, as well as defensive equipment from theJapan Self Defense Force including masks and suits
to protect against chemical weapons. Japan has also
pledged to double financial support for Ukraine
to 600 million dollars. As the global community
unites and takes unprecedented action in support ofUkraine, Japan has revised its own policy guidelines
on transferring defense equipment following requests
from the Ukrainian government.
Japan is also accepting an increasing number of
Ukrainian evacuees. Twenty Ukrainian citizens weretransported to Japan on a governmental aircraft on
April 5, and more than one thousand Ukrainians havearrived in Japan. This unprecedented humanitariancrisis has prompted a government-wide response, andUkrainians who do not have relatives or acquaintances
in Japan are now accepted to enter for 90 days, withthe option of changing their status to “DesignatedActivities (one-year work permitted)” if they wish toreside in the country.
Communities and private businesses have steppedup their efforts to support evacuees with housing andemployment, and institutions of higher education areaccepting students who have been deprived of theirBlue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian national flag, lighting up buildings all over Japan. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (left) and Nijo Castlein Kyoto, a sister city of Mariupol, in Ukraine, show their solidarity with the country. MAINICHI / AFLO (LEFT), IMAGEMART (RIGHT)

chance to learn. International Christian University(ICU) is one such institution. ICU released astatement by its president almost immediately
after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine,strongly protesting the act, and moved quickly toaccommodate Ukrainian students. “Education andacademia cannot be secured without peace. Ourperception was that we need to respond to a situationthat threatens that peace,” said IWAKIRI Shoichiro,
the university’s president.
Other universities accept Ukrainian evacuees as
well, but the advantages of ICU are its provisionof on-campus housing in its dormitories, as well as
bilingualism, having both Japanese and English as its
official languages. Above all, the university has thebenefit of past experience in giving young refugees
the chance to pursue higher education, as it has
accepted Syrian refugees through cooperation withprivate organizations as the first Education Pathways
case in Japan. This project follows the vision of theUNHCR, which recommends the provision ofhigher education opportunities for refugees. For
example, there is a coordinator on ICU’s campus toestablish support teams for students in order to help

them to prioritize their academic and daily life in adifferent culture.
There is a growing movement among institutionsof higher education to foster environments thatwill provide as many students as possible with theopportunity to continue their education after being
forced to flee their own countries. Universities actively
exchange information, and ICU plays a central roleand shares its experience. “The key is to provide
educational opportunities to those who have been
deprived of them,” asserts President Iwakiri.
In late May, five evacuee students from Ukraine
began to study at ICU as auditors. In June, theuniversity’s first Syrian refugee students who had
begun their studies in 2018, will graduate. Iwakiri
stated, “Here in Japan, we hope that these students
will regain the right to live with human dignity. As
for ourselves, we hope to be humane and empathetic
in accepting them into our midst.”
President Iwakiri is not alone in cherishing suchhopes. Russia’s violation of international law is utterly
unacceptable and all of us in the public and private
sectors, along with academia stand firm with Ukraine
and its people in our support.

ICU plans to maintain a peaceful education environment for Ukrainian students.
“The world’s institutions of higher education are linked in solidarity, no matter wherethe student undertakes his or her studies. The important thing is that we help eachother to nurture the next generation,” says IWAKIRI Shoichiro, president of ICU.

Top: Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio met with Sergiy Korsunsky,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Japan (right),
on March 23, the day that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered avirtual address to the Japanese Diet. Right: On April 5, Ukrainianevacuees arrived in Japan on a chartered government jet. An increasing
number of local governments and private businesses are supporting themwith regard to housing, employment, education, and daily needs. AFP=JIJI

Following Russian aggression against Ukraine, Japan has made the swift
dissemination of information a priority, detailing its response in nine languages,including Ukrainian (pictured), on the official website of the Prime Minister’s Office.

The data in this article is up to date as of May 21, 2022.