Japan to pledge $106 million in aid to Ukraine

Japan will pledge ¥15.8 billion ($106 million) in aid to Ukraine at a conference to be held in Tokyo on Feb. 19, Kyodo News reported Sunday, citing unidentified sources.

The funding will be used for reconstruction in seven areas, including agriculture and the disposal of rubble, Kyodo said.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal are set to attend the conference, along with government and industry representatives from both countries, national broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.

The Nation’s Cabinet Secretariat was not available for comment outside of regular working hours.

Japan in December, after it overhauled its arms export guidelines, said it would prepare to ship Patriot air defense missiles to the United States.

The country still cannot ship weapons to combatants at war, but such shipments to the U.S. could indirectly benefit Ukraine by boosting Washington’s capacity to provide military aid to Kyiv.