Dozens of Japanese men volunteer to fight for Ukraine
March 2, 2022, 9:07 am

Dozens of Japanese men volunteer to fight for Ukraine

Russian invasion of Ukraine (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said, quoting a Tokyo company handling Japanese volunteers who want to fight for Ukraine, as of Tuesday, 70 men - including 50 former members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and two veterans of the French Foreign Legion - had applied to be volunteers.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy acknowledged receiving calls from people "wanting to fight for Ukraine," but declined to give further details.

A Feb 28 social media post from the embassy thanked Japanese for their many inquiries about volunteering but added a proviso.

It said: "Any candidates for this must have experience in Japan's Self-Defense Forces or have undergone specialized training."

Keiichi Kurogi was one of dozens men in Japan who offered to join an "international legion" to fight Russian invaders after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for volunteers.

Kurogi, a 39-year-old office worker who lives in southwestern Japan, told Reuters he rang the Ukrainian embassy on Monday after seeing its plea for volunteers on Twitter.

Crowded street in Tokyo, Japan (File photo: Pixabay)

"When I saw images of elderly men and women in Ukraine holding guns and going to the front, I felt I should go in their place," he said.

The embassy declined Kurogi's offer to fight, telling him that he lacked the necessary military experience.

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 traveling to Ukraine.

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Japan has told its nationals to put off travel to Ukraine for any reason, a warning reiterated on Wednesday by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who said he was aware of the reports about the volunteers.

He told a news conference: "The Japanese foreign ministry has issued an evacuation advisory for all of Ukraine and we want people to stop all travel to Ukraine, regardless of the purpose of their visit."

"We are communicating with the Ukrainian embassy in Japan and pointed out that an evacuation advisory is in place."

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 only exercise collective self-defense or aid allies under attack.

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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.

As for Kurogi, he is adamant that he would volunteer again if Ukraine changed its requirements.

He said: "I'm from a generation that does not know war at all."

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He said: "It's not that I want to go to a war, it's more that I would rather go than see children forced to carry guns."

Source: aawsat

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.