In the First Members’ Office Building of the Japan’s House of Representatives, a lecture on the “crisis in Ukraine” was held. At the same time, flags of the russian pseudo-republics “DNR” and “LNR” were hung on the walls.
Organizers claimed that the event was attended by about 100 people, including former parliamentarians, representatives from Japan’s political circles, experts, members of the Self-Defense Forces, business representatives, media, and ordinary citizens.The “seminar,” they said, was allegedly organized by Japanese historian Kenji Tanaka, who is also the chair of the Japan–russia Good Neighbor Association. He reportedly talked about his visit to the occupied territories of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions and about the “unconstitutional coup in Ukraine in February 2014.”
Also present was a russian envoy, who repeated the propaganda version of the war in Ukraine, mentioning the “underlying causes of the conflict.”
The Ukrainian Embassy in Japan said that a new attempt to spread disinformation and manipulative narratives about Ukraine indeed took place in the building of Japan’s parliament. At the same time, it added that it understands such initiatives are the personal activity of certain individuals and do not reflect the official position of the Government of Japan.
However, the ministry expressed concern about the use of pseudo-republic symbols, which it said are “part of russian propaganda.” It said it hopes that “proper political and legal evaluation” will be carried out regarding these actions.
