By Keita Nakamura,
Ukraine's ambassador to Japan said Friday he expects the Group of Seven leaders to send a strong message against using nuclear weapons at their meeting in Japan next week in light of Russia's nuclear blackmailing of his country.
Sergiy Korsunsky also referred to Moscow's attack and control of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine in the war Russia has been waging against the Eastern European nation since February 2022, during an interview with Kyodo News ahead of the three-day G-7 summit from May 19 in Hiroshima.
"Number one, that is nuclear safety and security, taking into account Japan's experiences in both, I mean, nuclear bombs in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and (the nuclear crisis in) Fukushima," said Korsunsky. Japan knows it "better than anybody else."
The annual G-7 summit brings together leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to join virtually.
Kishida, who represents a constituency in Hiroshima, will chair the gathering of the seven major democracies. He has made his signature vision of "a world without nuclear weapons" a key topic.
Korsunsky also aired hopes that discussions will center on "practical" reconstruction in Ukraine, such as how to use frozen Russian overseas assets to help finance the rebuilding.
As for the attendance of guest nations, such as India and Brazil, Korsunsky said it is "important because we need more understanding in the Global South about what is going on in Ukraine," using a term that collectively refers to emerging and developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The G-7 members have strengthened economic sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine, while most Global South countries have tried to avoid taking sides.
Among the G-7, Japan is "probably the best" at attracting more support for Kyiv from the Global South, the envoy said, noting that Japan is in a "very trustable position" in Asia and Africa due to its decades-long humanitarian and development assistance to the regions.
Australia, Comoros, the Cook Islands, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam are the other six invited countries to the summit.
Korsunsky also welcomed moves in Japan to allow the export of lethal weapons to friendly nations by amending its strict regulations on exporting defense equipment.
Japan's Self-Defense Forces are effectively banned from providing military arms to foreign forces in light of the country's postwar pacifist Constitution.
"I don't see how export of military equipment contradicts traditional pacifist attitude of Japan...they are not intended to kill, they are intended to protect" Ukrainian citizens, Korsunsky said.
