JAPAN TODAY



 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approached Japan about delivering a virtual speech to parliament, lawmakers familiar with the matter said Wednesday, as he continues to rally international support to defend his country from Russia's invasion.

The Japanese government and ruling coalition are interested in accepting the proposal and looking to determine whether such a speech is logistically possible in the Diet.

The Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, explained to other political parties about the idea from the Ukrainian president, who delivered an emotional speech to the British House of Commons on March 8 via video link and vowed to fight until the end against Russia.

"It's better to carry this out early," a senior lawmaker of the major Japanese ruling party told reporters.

The LDP and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan convened a meeting of their Diet affairs chiefs, and both sides agreed to work toward realizing his speech.

"It will help Japan's parliament to transmit feelings (about the invasion) to across the country and the rest of the world," Tsuyoshi Takagi, the LDP's Diet affairs chief, told reporters after the meeting.

His counterpart Sumio Mabuchi of the opposition party said, "We should definitely proceed."

The Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo has sounded out the Foreign Ministry about the possibility of Zelenskyy addressing Japan's parliament, according to the lawmakers.

Zelenskyy has addressed the European Parliament and Canada's parliament, and the actor-turned-wartime leader is set to address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

© KYODO