Kyodo News
June 13, 2022

Ukraine, U.S. envoys announce fund to integrate evacuees to Japan

The Ukraine and U.S. ambassadors to Tokyo called on the Japanese public Monday to give to a newly launched fund helping Ukrainian evacuees adjust to life in Japan, including with language-learning aid.

The Ukraine Evacuees Assistance Fund, established in a partnership between the philanthropic Nippon Foundation with U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Korsunsky, aims to raise 1 billion yen ($7.4 million) by Sept. 30.

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At a press conference at the foundation’s Tokyo headquarters, Korsunsky stressed the fund is…an “investment of Japan into the nation which will always be friendly to you, which can help you in many terms in the future.”

Emanuel, who approached the foundation about the fund, praised Japan’s response to Ukrainians’ plight so far, saying, “The Japanese people have stepped up since day one, and opened their hearts, opened their homes and opened their wallets, and we’re asking them to continue to do that.”

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Other Nippon Foundation Ukraine initiatives have included a fund announced in March providing around 5 billion yen to evacuees and nongovernment organizations helping them.