Japan will continue to support Ukraine, the Japanese foreign minister said today Yoko Kamikawawhich is visiting Kiev.

“Japan is determined to continue supporting Ukraine so that peace can return to Ukraine,” the minister said through an interpreter at a joint press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

“Based on the results of my visit, Japan will continue to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine,” he added.

The minister specifically mentioned that Tokyo had released 37 million dollars (about 33.8 million euros) to provide a drone detection system to Ukraine.

For his part, Kuleba said he informed his counterpart that Ukraine needs not only F-16 fighter jets but also new air defense systems to counter Russian strikes.

“Every day, Ukrainian cities are destroyed by Russian missiles and drones. They can’t arrest us, so they try to destroy us. They won’t succeed” said Kouleba.

According to Kouleba, the two ministers also discussed the “threats” associated with North Korea, which is accused of supplying arms and ammunition to Moscow.

The Japanese diplomatic chief, the first senior foreign official to visit Ukraine this year, met with Kuleba and visited the towns of Bucha and Irpin, two towns near Kiev that have been the scene of atrocities attributed to the Russian military.

“I visited Butsa and saw the still fresh signs of Russian aggression and was shocked by what I saw,” Kamikawa said.

The visit was not announced in the official schedule of Kamikawa, who began a two-week tour on Friday that will visit Poland, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US, Canada, Germany and Turkey.

Japan will host a conference in Tokyo in February to promote Ukraine’s economic reconstruction, which Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Smygal is expected to attend.

The minister will discuss with the Ukrainian side the detailed program of the conference and attend “the ceremony of handing over electrical equipment” to provide assistance to Ukraine in the winter season, according to the statement.

Japan has strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and participates in international sanctions against Moscow.