Sep 24 (NHK) - Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has conveyed his country's intention to maintain support for Ukraine to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The two leaders held summit talks at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.
At the onset, Zelenskyy conferred a Ukrainian order on Kishida, saying that he wants to express the utmost gratitude for Japan's support provided under Kishida's leadership.
Kishida said that two and a half years ago, when the Russian aggression began, he decided to firmly stand up against the outrage that shook the foundation of the international order with a strong sense of crisis that "Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow."
He said that Japan will continue to do its utmost to support Ukraine.
Kishida also noted that the Japan External Trade Organization, or JETRO, is set to open an office in Kyiv in October.
He welcomed the fact that the two governments recently reached a deal in principle on the Japan-Ukraine Agreement on the Security of Information, which is designed to protect intelligence appropriately between the authorities of the two nations.
Zelenskyy briefed Kishida on the latest situation in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
The two leaders agreed to continue to cooperate with each other.