Today, March 17, 2021, in Tokyo, as part of the official visit of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, initiated by the Japanese side, Andrii Taran met with the Minister of Defense of Japan Nobuo Kishi.

The heads of defense departments of the two countries talked for more than two hours, twice as long as planned. A number of agreements have been reached on a wide range of military-political and military issues.

First of all, Minister Nobuo Kishi congratulated Andrii Taran, whose visit is the first visit by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine to Japan in the history of bilateral relations, and reaffirmed Japan's unwavering stance, which respects Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity and considers any attempt to change the country's territorial status quo illegal.

The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of further developing bilateral defense cooperation on the basis of the Memorandum between the two Ministries on Cooperation and Exchanges in Defense, discussed the capabilities of the defense industries of both countries, and determined ways to cooperate in technology exchange, military and dual-use goods.

"We have agreed to hold a second round of Ukrainian-Japanese security consultations at the level of high representatives of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs of the two countries in the format of 2 representatives from each side in autumn 2021. They also considered the possibility of organizing the exchange of experience of servicemen of the two countries, in particular, the Land Forces and the Special Operations Forces. Finally, the Japanese side confirmed the involvement of representatives of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the multinational exercises on the territory of Ukraine "Sea Breeze-2021" and expressed readiness to join the exercises "Joint Efforts-2021", told Andrii Taran.

The Ukrainian Defense Minister reiterated that our countries jointly adhere to the principle of inviolability of internationally recognized borders, and assured that Ukraine shares Japan's position on resolving the territorial issue on the basis of the 1956 declaration and the need to ensure free and safe navigation in all waters in line with international agreements.