"If Ukrainian Youth Are Dying, I Will Fight Too"… 70 Japanese Join International Volunteer Forces Support

The Japanese Government Is Negative... Decision After Consultation with Ukraine and Japan

On the 26th of last month, Russians, Ukrainians, and Japanese held placards reading "Stop the War" and other messages while protesting in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] As the Ukrainian government recruits foreign volunteers in response to Russia's invasion, it is reported that about 70 Japanese have applied.

The Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 2nd, "A representative of the Ukrainian Embassy in Japan stated that as of the 1st, about 70 Japanese men have applied to join the foreign volunteer forces." Among them, about 50 are former Self-Defense Forces members, including two who previously served in the French Foreign Legion.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the 27th of last month that he would recruit applicants to form foreign volunteer forces. The Ukrainian Embassy in Japan posted on Twitter, calling for "those who want to fight together" and shared a recruitment message for volunteers.

The Ukrainian government is considering paying compensation if the volunteers are deployed, but for now, the Twitter post stated that they are recruiting volunteers with Self-Defense Forces experience as unpaid volunteers.

The applicants expressed reasons such as, "Although I may not be of much help in Japan, I want to do something useful," "I applied with pure motives," and "If young Ukrainians are dying, I will fight."

However, it seems difficult for the Japanese volunteers to actually depart for Ukraine. The Japanese government has set the risk level for the entire Ukraine region at the highest level 4 (evacuation advisory). Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference on the 1st, "I am aware that the Ukrainian Embassy is requesting volunteers, but regardless of the purpose, I hope people refrain from going to Ukraine."

The Mainichi Shimbun also reported, "The Ukrainian Embassy in Japan plans to coordinate with the Japanese government to decide whether to dispatch applicants as actual volunteers, and there is a possibility that applicants may be assigned to humanitarian support duties."

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Embassy in Japan announced via Twitter that about 60,000 people in Japan have donated to an account opened for humanitarian aid fundraising, raising approximately 2 billion yen (about 21 billion KRW) as of the 1st.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.