The G7 Summit of the Group of Seven (G7 Summit) will be held in Hiroshima on May 19-21. Japan will chair this year’s G7 Summit and lead discussions on various issues facing the international community. Taking this opportunity, we will consider the current status and future challenges of important issues facing the international community today, as well as Japan’s contribution and JICA’s cooperation. The first session will focus on assistance to Ukraine more than a year after the start of the Russian invasion.
Violent acts that destroy the international order are a global problem.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia began last February. The world was shocked by this outrageous act of forceful unilateral trampling on the sovereignty and territory of another country, ignoring international law (such as the UN Charter), which the world has been building toward peace based on reflections from the world wars. There is a fear that the international order, which is formed by the rule of law and the international community based on the principle of independence and equality of nations, may be destroyed, and universal values such as freedom, democracy, and human rights are under severe challenge. This is a serious problem facing the world, and not just a war between two countries, Ukraine and Russia.
Japan and other G7 nations were quick to announce and implement their support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. While the fighting has continued for more than a year, Prime Minister Kishida stated at a press conference in February of this year, “We must steadily implement support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia and restore world peace and order based on the rule of law, including the UN Charter and international law, to ensure that there will be no attempt to unilaterally change the status quo through force. Japan, as the chairing country of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, expressed its determination to take the lead in forging unity on the Ukraine issue.
As a peaceful nation, Japan continues to provide assistance that is close to the people, drawing on its experience and strengths. We have provided materials and equipment that meet local needs, such as generators and electric power-related equipment for overwintering assistance, construction equipment and demining equipment for restoration and reconstruction, and other items that take advantage of Japan’s technological capabilities. In addition, sharing of knowledge and experience based on the experience of reconstruction from World War II and the Great East Japan Earthquake is also needed to build a more resilient postwar Ukraine.
Japan’s assistance related to Ukraine (from the Prime Minister’s Office announcement in February and March 2023)
JICA’s First Assistance to a War-Torn Country: Building on Trust
In September 2022, JICA established the “Ukraine Support Office” in order to promptly provide the necessary assistance. The following three pillars are in place and comprehensive efforts are underway.
In particular, in the third area of support for recovery and reconstruction, we need to make long-term efforts, ranging from the short-term support required now to medium- to long-term support for the postwar period. We will promote cooperation focusing on four areas, from the establishment of infrastructure for full-scale restoration, to reconstruction of social infrastructure and other livelihoods, industrial reconstruction in key industries such as agriculture, and strengthening of governance.
JICA is strongly required to play the role of a link between Ukraine’s needs and Japan’s own solutions,” says Toru Kobayakawa, head of JICA’s Ukraine Support Office.
In fact, this was the first time for JICA to provide assistance to a country at war. Even under such circumstances, JICA has been able to quickly obtain information on what is needed in Ukraine and carefully absorb it, thanks to the relationship of trust that JICA has built up through its past cooperation with Ukraine.
Taking advantage of our cooperative relationship, we quickly decided to provide mobile relay equipment and filming equipment to the Ukrainian Public Broadcasting Service, which continues its news activities amidst the destruction of its facilities during the war, in order to realize prompt and accurate on-site reporting. In addition, our continued cooperation in improving Ukraine’s urban waste disposal capacity even before the invasion has led to our current support for debris disposal, which is the foundation for wartime restoration and reconstruction.
And in support and training for the removal of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Ukraine, JICA continued cooperation with the Mine Action Center in Cambodia, with which JICA has cooperated for many years, including the training of personnel to engage in landmine clearance in Ukraine using Japanese-made demining equipment. Both of these cases were based on cooperation that JICA had been building up for some time and were able to respond quickly.
(Clockwise from top) Toru Kobayakawa, Director of JICA’s Ukraine Support Office / Ukraine’s public broadcaster continues to transmit information from a temporary underground studio even in times of emergency when an air raid alarm sounds / JICA’s landmine clearance training for Ukraine’s Emergency Situation Agency staff in Cambodia in January of this year
The international community is an interdependent web
The Russian aggression continues to this day, with no end in sight. Ukraine, whose budget deficit is ballooning due to the war, faces the difficult task of rebuilding its economy under wartime conditions. In order to rebuild the country, it is essential to revive industry, create jobs, and increase tax revenues in order to break away from dependence on financial assistance from abroad.
JICA is also promoting economic support through assistance to Ukrainian entrepreneurs, and has begun to encourage the rebuilding of agriculture, a major industry. Ukraine has been implementing a policy of decentralization since before the recent invasion, and it is expected that local governments will take the lead in reconstruction efforts in the future, making it necessary to provide more detailed support for their needs. JICA’s major mission is to serve as a hub between Japanese companies and local governments that wish to provide assistance and Ukrainian local governments,” says Mr. Kobayakawa.
In March and April of this year, JICA concluded a grant aid donation agreement with the Ukrainian government, under which JICA will donate up to a total of approximately 75 billion yen for economic and social development in developing regions. In addition to the ongoing cooperation in mine and unexploded ordnance countermeasures and expansion of support for debris and disaster waste disposal, JICA will support recovery and reconstruction in a total of 10 areas, including electricity, energy, and health and medical care. Support for the education sector is also included, amid concerns about the impact of the war on children. Currently, thousands of schools have been destroyed or damaged, preventing education for more than 5 million children. We will also work to provide IT equipment to enable children to conduct their education remotely from a safe location.
In order to protect the peace, order, and security of the international community, the G7 is united in condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and in expressing its continued support for the restoration and stabilization of democracy in Ukraine. The international community is interdependent and can be likened to a tightly woven web. Supporting Ukraine, which constitutes the web of the international community, is not a matter for each and every one of us in the international community. That is why JICA will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine in a focused manner, drawing on its past experience and knowledge, while considering what assistance Ukraine truly needs.
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