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▼ Zelenskyy Hails Japan's Stand Against Russia And Warns Of Nuclear Threat To Ukraine
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an online speech to Japanese lawmakers on Wednesday evening, raising the specter of nuclear disaster in his country while praising Japan as a “leader in Asia” for its response to the Russian invasion.
“Japan was the first in Asia who really began to put pressure on Russia to restore peace, who supported sanctions against Russia, and I urge you to keep doing this,” Zelenskyy told a packed audience via livestream.
The charismatic Ukrainian leader also sought to appeal to his Japanese audience by alluding to key moments in the nation’s modern history: atomic bombings at the end of World War II, the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and a chemical weapons attack in Tokyo.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling has alarmed many, but it has especially struck a nerve Japan. As the only country ever to be attacked with nuclear weapons, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are seared into the Japanese popular consciousness.
Zelenskyy highlighted the threat, saying that the world was watching and wondering what would happen if Russia were to use nuclear weapons.
The Ukrainian president also sounded an ominous note, echoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s warnings that there have been “clear” signs that Russia is considering using chemical and biological weapons.
“I have received reports that Russia is preparing to use chemical weapons, including sarin gas,” Zelenskyy said, evoking memories of the March 1995 attack by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which released sarin into the Tokyo subway system, killing 14 and injuring thousands.
In praising Japan, Zelenskyy also urged Tokyo to continue heaping sanctions on Moscow, with the Ukrainian president suggesting a trade embargo on Russian goods.
“To stop the tsunami of Russia’s invasion, (Japan) must ban trade and companies need to withdraw from Russia,” he said.
In a pointed reference, Zelenskyy also noted the millions of Ukrainians who have either evacuated from the country or fled to other parts of Ukraine, saying that they need to be able to return to their hometowns.
“The people of Japan can probably understand the feeling of wanting to return to their hometowns, where they have lived for a long time,” Zelenskyy said.
He was apparently attempting to bring to mind the dramatic images of hundreds of thousands of people who were forced to evacuate their homes following the March 2011 earthquakes and ensuing massive tsunami.
Ties between Japan and Russia have become increasingly strained over Moscow’s invasion.
Russia on Monday announced that it was abandoning long-running talks over a formal peace treaty ending World War II. It blamed the Japanese side for triggering the move after Tokyo slapped a number of onerous sanctions on companies and senior officials, including Putin.
The virtual address — the first online speech by a foreign leader to the legislature — was shown at two separate venues near the parliament building for some lawmakers and streamed online for the rest.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the heads of the lower and upper chambers and Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky were among the attendees.
Zelenskyy, a former actor and comedian who has delivered a series of passionate online speeches exhorting the world to fight back against Russia’s attack on his county, had already made virtual addresses to the U.S. Congress, as well as parliaments in Europe, Canada and Israel, among others.
Similar to his address to the Japanese parliament, those speeches adopted the media-savvy strategy of emotionally appealing to nations by invoking key aspects of their histories.
In his address to the U.S. Congress, he referenced Martin Luther King Jr., saying that he, too, had a dream — of a no-fly zone over his country.
He told the British Parliament that Ukraine would fight in the woods, fields and on the beaches — a pledge reminiscent of wartime British leader Winston Churchill’s vow not to give in to the Nazis. To German lawmakers, he evoked the Cold War, urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “tear down” a new wall dividing Europe.
Zelenskyy’s speech before Congress had stirred some trepidation at the thought of him speaking to Japanese lawmakers, as he mentioned Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the same breath as the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Kenta Izumi, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, had earlier expressed caution over having Zelenskyy speak, initially saying that a foreign leader addressing parliament should only take place after that leader and the Japanese prime minister have held talks and issued a joint statement. His party later agreed to work with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in holding the speech.
Tokyo has surprised some observers with its tough stance on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, quickly joining in coordinated moves with other Group of Seven nations. That marked a noticeable shift from its actions under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had made reaching a peace deal with Moscow a major foreign policy priority.
In two other surprising moves, Japan — known for its tough refugee standards — was quick to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the war and dispatch nonlethal military gear, a rare instance of sending equipment to a country under armed attack.
“Japan was the first in Asia who really began to put pressure on Russia to restore peace, who supported sanctions against Russia, and I urge you to keep doing this,” Zelenskyy told a packed audience via livestream.
The charismatic Ukrainian leader also sought to appeal to his Japanese audience by alluding to key moments in the nation’s modern history: atomic bombings at the end of World War II, the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and a chemical weapons attack in Tokyo.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling has alarmed many, but it has especially struck a nerve Japan. As the only country ever to be attacked with nuclear weapons, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are seared into the Japanese popular consciousness.
Zelenskyy highlighted the threat, saying that the world was watching and wondering what would happen if Russia were to use nuclear weapons.
The Ukrainian president also sounded an ominous note, echoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s warnings that there have been “clear” signs that Russia is considering using chemical and biological weapons.
“I have received reports that Russia is preparing to use chemical weapons, including sarin gas,” Zelenskyy said, evoking memories of the March 1995 attack by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which released sarin into the Tokyo subway system, killing 14 and injuring thousands.
In praising Japan, Zelenskyy also urged Tokyo to continue heaping sanctions on Moscow, with the Ukrainian president suggesting a trade embargo on Russian goods.
“To stop the tsunami of Russia’s invasion, (Japan) must ban trade and companies need to withdraw from Russia,” he said.
In a pointed reference, Zelenskyy also noted the millions of Ukrainians who have either evacuated from the country or fled to other parts of Ukraine, saying that they need to be able to return to their hometowns.
“The people of Japan can probably understand the feeling of wanting to return to their hometowns, where they have lived for a long time,” Zelenskyy said.
He was apparently attempting to bring to mind the dramatic images of hundreds of thousands of people who were forced to evacuate their homes following the March 2011 earthquakes and ensuing massive tsunami.
Ties between Japan and Russia have become increasingly strained over Moscow’s invasion.
Russia on Monday announced that it was abandoning long-running talks over a formal peace treaty ending World War II. It blamed the Japanese side for triggering the move after Tokyo slapped a number of onerous sanctions on companies and senior officials, including Putin.
The virtual address — the first online speech by a foreign leader to the legislature — was shown at two separate venues near the parliament building for some lawmakers and streamed online for the rest.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the heads of the lower and upper chambers and Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky were among the attendees.
Zelenskyy, a former actor and comedian who has delivered a series of passionate online speeches exhorting the world to fight back against Russia’s attack on his county, had already made virtual addresses to the U.S. Congress, as well as parliaments in Europe, Canada and Israel, among others.
Similar to his address to the Japanese parliament, those speeches adopted the media-savvy strategy of emotionally appealing to nations by invoking key aspects of their histories.
In his address to the U.S. Congress, he referenced Martin Luther King Jr., saying that he, too, had a dream — of a no-fly zone over his country.
He told the British Parliament that Ukraine would fight in the woods, fields and on the beaches — a pledge reminiscent of wartime British leader Winston Churchill’s vow not to give in to the Nazis. To German lawmakers, he evoked the Cold War, urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “tear down” a new wall dividing Europe.
Zelenskyy’s speech before Congress had stirred some trepidation at the thought of him speaking to Japanese lawmakers, as he mentioned Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the same breath as the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Kenta Izumi, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, had earlier expressed caution over having Zelenskyy speak, initially saying that a foreign leader addressing parliament should only take place after that leader and the Japanese prime minister have held talks and issued a joint statement. His party later agreed to work with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in holding the speech.
Tokyo has surprised some observers with its tough stance on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, quickly joining in coordinated moves with other Group of Seven nations. That marked a noticeable shift from its actions under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had made reaching a peace deal with Moscow a major foreign policy priority.
In two other surprising moves, Japan — known for its tough refugee standards — was quick to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the war and dispatch nonlethal military gear, a rare instance of sending equipment to a country under armed attack.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was due to depart for Brussels after the speech for an in-person meeting with G7 leaders. He is scheduled to meet with them on Thursday — exactly a month since the Russian invasion began. The conflict will be at the top of the agenda.
The White House said Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden would join partners at the meeting in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening existing measures in a bid to crack down on evasion.
Kishida and other top Japanese officials have repeatedly delivered scathing criticism of Russia’s invasion, calling attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force unacceptable in any region.
The calls have been widely seen as an implicit recognition by Japan that acquiescing to the Russian moves could have consequences in Asia, with Beijing possibly seeking to take a page from Moscow’s playbook, either in connection to Taiwan or the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China.
A Kyodo News poll released Sunday found that more than 75% of people surveyed had expressed concern that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine could prompt China to attempt to forcibly seize Taiwan or the Senkakus.
This followed a similar survey a day earlier by the Mainichi Shimbun and Saitama University’s Social Survey Research Center, which found 9 in 10 Japanese people are concerned that China may invade Taiwan following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The White House said Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden would join partners at the meeting in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening existing measures in a bid to crack down on evasion.
Kishida and other top Japanese officials have repeatedly delivered scathing criticism of Russia’s invasion, calling attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force unacceptable in any region.
The calls have been widely seen as an implicit recognition by Japan that acquiescing to the Russian moves could have consequences in Asia, with Beijing possibly seeking to take a page from Moscow’s playbook, either in connection to Taiwan or the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China.
A Kyodo News poll released Sunday found that more than 75% of people surveyed had expressed concern that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine could prompt China to attempt to forcibly seize Taiwan or the Senkakus.
This followed a similar survey a day earlier by the Mainichi Shimbun and Saitama University’s Social Survey Research Center, which found 9 in 10 Japanese people are concerned that China may invade Taiwan following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- March 23, 2022
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