On July 29, in Kyiv, Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Rostyslav Karandieiev, met with Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, Masahito Moriyama. The parties discussed cooperation and support for Ukraine in the fields of culture, preservation and restoration of cultural heritage, and information policy.
“Japan is helping Ukraine a lot. All Ukrainians know this. The Government of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are helping us implement many projects today. I am pleased that the Japanese Government, in its broad focus, particularly includes a place for culture. Even before the full-scale war, the contacts between Ukraine and Japan were quite fruitful and effective, but now our cooperation is especially dynamic,” said Rostyslav Karandieiev.
The Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine thanked Japan for its financial assistance in implementing the project “Support for Ukrainian Culture and Education through UNESCO,” as well as for supporting the national public broadcaster of Ukraine and showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Rostyslav Karandieiev outlined Ukraine’s needs for the protection of cultural heritage. Due to russian aggression, more than 1,080 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine have already been damaged or destroyed, and museum artifacts have also suffered.
Currently, Ukraine needs to modernize its restoration center, exchange experience in restoring museum artifacts, build a specialized fund storage – a national depository to ensure proper storage conditions for evacuated museum collections and works of art, and digitize the sector.
“Even during the war, we believe that culture and art give people the strength to live and serve as a bridge between countries. We would like, with maximum support, to deepen cultural exchanges between our countries. Japan is also a country that supports the values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. We want to continue providing comprehensive support for the recovery of Ukraine,” emphasized Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Masahito Moriyama.
Japan remains a key partner for Ukraine in Asia today and will continue to provide support to Ukraine, particularly in the fields of culture and media.
