Press Conferences

Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Today I attended the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held online from 9:30 p.m. for 90 minutes.

The meeting today was held just two weeks after the previous meeting on March 4. We confirmed that we will continue to cooperate by repeatedly holding consultations among the G7 foreign ministers at an unprecedentedly high pace.

At the beginning of the meeting, Germany, which holds the G7 Presidency, expressed sympathy regarding the earthquake in Japan that occurred last night. I stated that I would share the message with everyone in Japan, especially everyone in Tohoku.

After that, we entered the discussions. We reaffirmed that the G7 strongly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ participation, that we will urge Russia to immediately stop its invasion, and that we will continue to exert pressure on Russia.

Additionally, as the invasion continues, there is an increasing need for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. The neighboring countries that are accepting evacuees from Ukraine are also facing difficult situations. Due to this, we shared the view on the necessity for the international community to strengthen support for Ukraine and its neighboring countries, and especially Moldova which is in a particularly difficult situation. I actually held a telephone talk with Foreign Minister Popescu of Moldova just yesterday and spoke during the G7 meeting taking into account what we have discussed during the telephone talk. During the meeting, we shared the view that the G7 will establish a Moldova Support Group with the participation of other relevant countries, international organizations, and others.

In addition, as announced yesterday by Prime Minister Kishida, I stated that Japan will implement additional sanctions that further strengthen diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia based on the G7 Leaders’ Statement last week. I also introduced that Japan will extend $100 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, additionally provide Japan Self-Defense Forces materials including medical supplies, and has built a system to actively accept evacuees from Ukraine and provide them with livelihood support. Japan will continue to respond to this issue in close cooperation with the G7 and international community.

That is all from me.

Reporter: Regarding the support for neighboring countries including Moldova, which you just mentioned, what specifically was your shared recognition regarding the difficult situation that such regions are placed in? Furthermore, please provide more specific details regarding the direction of the support.

Minister Hayashi: I would like to refrain from speaking about the details of our discussion. However, one aspect is that the number of evacuees being accepted is extremely high. Each country has its situation, but Moldova in particular is an extremely small country, so it is facing a very difficult situation. Amidst this situation, as I stated earlier when I introduced the discussion during my telephone talk with the Foreign Minister of Moldova, we will provide humanitarian assistance while cooperating with various countries. In doing so, we will establish a support team, especially for Moldova, as I mentioned before.

Reporter: The U.S.-China Summit Meeting will be held tomorrow. There are reports indicating that China intends to provide military and economic support to Russia. Did you have any discussions regarding China during your meeting today?

Minister Hayashi: China came up in our discussions today. I would like to refrain from speaking about the details.

Reporter: I would like to ask for more specific details regarding the Moldova Support Group. Will this group be composed of G7 members? Will any others join as well? Please share with us a little more of an overview.

Minister Hayashi: The Moldova Support Group will be established at the call of the G7, with participation by the G7 countries as well as other relevant countries, international organizations, and the like. I believe that the specific activities, participating countries, and other such details will be coordinated swiftly going forward. The process began today.