A Day Off? Japan's Kishida Goes to Ukraine... Behind the Secret Visit

'Rest After Returning Home'... Traveling to Ukraine by Private Jet Used by Ohtani Except for Schedule

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's sudden visit to Ukraine drew significant attention within Japan regarding how he managed to arrive in Ukraine in complete secrecy. Until now, it was widely believed that it would be difficult for him to travel to Ukraine due to issues such as the Self-Defense Forces' overseas security arrangements and the requirement for prior reporting to the National Diet. Ultimately, with the visit successfully carried out, Prime Minister Kishida became the first Japanese leader to visit a battlefield since World War II.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 22nd, this visit was conducted so secretly that there was no prior report to the National Diet before the Prime Minister's departure, and even senior officials at the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs were unaware of it.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister's Office informed the Liberal Democratic Party, "Please do not schedule the Prime Minister to appear before the Diet on March 22. We want the Prime Minister to rest." Previously, Prime Minister Kishida had been visiting India since the 19th, holding a summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and was scheduled to return on the afternoon of the 21st. Considering the circumstances immediately after the Prime Minister's return from India, the Diet accepted a day of rest and adjusted the schedule accordingly. However, it was revealed through breaking news that this rest was actually a prelude to the trip to Ukraine. A senior LDP official who received the news told Asahi, "I now realize that the request to keep the 22nd free was because it would be difficult for him to return from Ukraine."

While in India, Prime Minister Kishida first boarded a flight to an airport in southern Poland early in the morning. Instead of using a government plane, he traveled on a civilian jet with a maximum capacity of 19 passengers to avoid drawing attention; this was the same type of aircraft that Japanese baseball team pitcher Shohei Ohtani used when returning to Japan from the United States on the 1st. Afterward, he traveled by car to Przemy?l station in Poland, near the Ukrainian border, and from there took a train for 10 hours to arrive in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Kishida, dressed in a suit, disembarked at Kyiv station, where Kuninori Matsuda, the Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine, and Emine Jephar, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, greeted him.

At the same time, the press corps accompanying the Prime Minister in India reportedly fell into great confusion. When asked about the visit to Ukraine, Kishida repeatedly said, "Nothing has been specifically decided yet. We will continue to consider it," but suddenly breaking news about the Ukraine visit was released. The accompanying journalists requested an explanation from the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, but since they had not been notified either, one official said, "I don't really know what is happening either. We are checking," and hurriedly contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, causing confusion on site.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prime Minister Kishida's visit to Ukraine appears to be aimed at asserting Japan's presence as the chair country of the Group of Seven (G7). Until now, Japan was the only G7 country that had not visited Ukraine. Above all, Asahi reported that Kishida himself was strongly determined to make the visit. Originally, the schedule was considered to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of last month, but it was reportedly difficult to adjust due to the regular Diet session and budget deliberations. A government official explained that after April, the war in Ukraine might intensify further, and the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Climate, Energy, and Environment would begin in mid-April, making this timing ideal.

However, security issues and the prior reporting process to the Diet posed obstacles. Since Japan cannot have an army or special agencies under its post-World War II pacifist constitution, it lacks a secret security bureau to protect the Prime Minister or the use of its own reconnaissance aircraft. Additionally, the customary requirement to report to the Diet before the Prime Minister travels abroad could not be carried out for security reasons, and persuading the Diet took additional time.

Prime Minister Kishida stayed in Ukraine for about five hours. After holding a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he crossed back into Poland that day to meet with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and is scheduled to return to Japan on the 23rd.