Section
Connections with Japan
Life in Japan, cultural exchange, and ties built through work.
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The “Father of Futurism” Lands at Tsuruga, 1920: Painter Davyd Burliuk’s Two Years in Japan
In October 1920, painter Davyd Burliuk, born in Kharkiv Province, arrived by ship at Tsuruga. From "the First Exhibition of Russian Painting in Japan" in Tokyo to life on Ogasawara and a co-authored book with young Japanese painters, this article traces his roughly two years in Japan through research into contemporary records and encyclopedias.
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From Taiho’s Father to Shishi and Aonishiki: Ukraine in the Sumo Association’s Records
The father of Showa-era yokozuna Taiho was a man born in a Ukrainian village. As of the September 2026 tournament, two active wrestlers give Ukraine as their birthplace: maegashira Shishi and ozeki Aonishiki. Drawing on the Japan Sumo Association's records and research tracing Taiho's father through Sakhalin's archives, this article sets the three men's records side by side.
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Japan-Ukraine Relations | History, Trade, and Economic Support Explained
This article was published in July 2024 and revised in September 2026. Please also read A Japan-Ukraine Timeline — From the 1965 Sister-City Agreement to Yen Loans, which lists events with dates and the body that announced them. News of Japan supporting Ukraine has become more common since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. So when and where did the relationship between Japan and Ukraine begin before that? This time, we explain the relationship between Ukraine and Japan, focusing on history, trade, and economic support. If…
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Demining Machines, Rails, Generators: What JICA Has Sent to Ukraine
JICA's grant aid to Ukraine has come to 6 projects since 2023, totaling more than ¥110.3 billion. About 20 Japanese-made demining machines and about 215 kilometers' worth of rails have been delivered. This article lines up the types and content of these projects, including ¥78 billion in budget support and a ¥471.9 billion ERA loan to be repaid from proceeds on frozen Russian assets.
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The 56 Cooperation Documents Unveiled in Tokyo, and What Followed
At the Japan–Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Recovery and Reconstruction, held on February 19, 2024 at the Keidanren Kaikan in Tokyo, 56 cooperation documents were unveiled, ranging from intergovernmental treaties to memoranda between companies. The tax treaty took effect in August 2025, and JETRO's Kyiv office opened in October 2024. Negotiations to revise the investment agreement were still ongoing as of their 7th round in August 2026.
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The Picture Book Tebukuro’s Original Title Was Rukavychka — and Its Roots in a Ukrainian Folktale
Fukuinkan Shoten's picture book てぶくろ (Tebukuro, “The Mitten”) has carried the words “Ukrainian folktale” in its title since its first edition in 1965. An earlier edition, テブクロ, had already been published by Nauka in 1956. The illustrator, Yevgenii Rachev, was born in Tomsk and began his career as an illustrator at a publishing house in Kyiv. This article traces the folktale, the picture book, and how it has been handled in Japan, through bibliographic records.
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60,000 Children Screened in Kyiv and Korosten: Japan’s Cooperation After Chornobyl
From 1991 to 1996, a Japanese foundation screened more than 60,000 children in Kyiv and Korosten. The Japanese government contributed to the fund covering the sarcophagus, and the year after the Fukushima accident it signed an agreement with Ukraine, switching to the side learning from Chornobyl's experience. This article traces developments, using published materials, through to the aftermath of a 2025 drone strike.
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Ukrainian Deminers Learn Japan’s ALIS Mine Detector — in Cambodia
Japan has sent 54 ALIS mine detectors and 22 demining machines to Ukraine's State Emergency Service, and has held operator training in both Japan and Cambodia together with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre. Estimates of how much land is affected vary widely depending on when and by whom they are announced. This article traces developments from a crane-equipped truck in 2023 to an international conference in Tokyo in 2025.
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Level 4 Since February 11, 2022: How to Read MOFA’s Travel Advisories
Level 4 (an advisory to evacuate) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in effect for all of Ukraine since February 11, 2022. This article explains what the four levels mean, why they carry no legal force, why the text matters more than the level, and how to read words like "continued" and "raised," using the September 2026 travel advisories for Ukraine and its neighbors as examples.
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From Bulletproof Vests to High-Mobility Vehicles: What Japan’s Self-Defense Forces Have Sent to Ukraine
On March 8, 2022, a transport aircraft loaded with Self-Defense Forces bulletproof vests and steel helmets departed for Poland. The government amended the operational guidelines for the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology that same day. This article traces the course of the transfers that followed — protective masks, drones, 131 SDF vehicles, and medical supplies — and the rule against sending anything with lethal capability.