S/ Kishida Fumio, Japanese Prime Minister / Japan will cooperate with the G7 and other like-minded countries to provide strong support for Ukraine.

Kishida and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Italy on June 13 on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit.

They signed an agreement covering cooperation on various issues, including economic support toward recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.

The support is aimed at realizing Japan's provision of long-term assistance to the war-torn country.

Officials said Japan expressed in the accord its intention to offer help in non-military fields such as providing non-lethal equipment and removing landmines.

The document also includes a provision that Japan and Ukraine will hold talks within 24 hours in the event Russia invades Ukraine again.

This was the first face-to-face meeting between Kishida and Zelenskyy since they held talks during the G7 Hiroshima summit in western Japan in May of last year.