The Japanese Prime Minister pays a surprise visit to Kiev

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While Ukrainian and Russian troops are exhausted in trench warfare in the Dombass, the world’s powerful are deploying their own fronts. Media effective. On red carpets. With images for the front page. And: Nowadays, behind every polite sentence there is a clear message.

Xi Jinping (69) is on a state visit to Moscow. The Chinese president has given himself three days to show the world and his host how attached his great power is to Russia. Putin is a good friend, Russia is a loyal trading partner and together they want to weaken Western democracies.

The Japanese Prime Minister took the train to Kiev in Poland

But other journeys also have symbolic power these days. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo announces its prime minister’s surprise visit to Kyiv. Fumio Kishida (65) had just been to India. Instead of returning home, the Japanese head of state took a plane to Eastern Europe. In Poland he boarded a train and was received by President Volodymyr Zelensky (45) in the Ukrainian capital on Monday afternoon. Fumio Kishida is not only coming to represent his country, but is also hosting the G7 summit this year. The lightning visit is a statement of support for Ukraine, but also a clear message to Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

The empire felt threatened by both superpowers. Russia claims the Kuril Islands in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, China claims the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. But Tokyo is much more concerned about China’s claim to the island nation of Taiwan. Japan could be drawn into a military conflict.

Russian bombers flew over the Sea of ​​Japan

After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Japan decided to double its defense budget to the equivalent of 300 billion Swiss francs. This would give Japan the third largest military budget in the world after the US and China. In addition, the arms industry is being developed and the military alliance with the United States is being expanded.

In addition to the US, Germany is also strengthening its partnership with Japan. Last weekend, Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to the German Empire with six of his most important ministers. Again, the message is clear. The Alliance in Economy and Security wants to break out of economic dependence on China and Russia.

Meanwhile, Russia “accompanied” the surprise visit of the Japanese to Kiev in its own way: shortly before Kishida met Zelenskiy, two Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons flew over the Sea of ​​Japan for more than seven hours.

Source: Blick