Zelensky to deliver 'unprecedented' virtual address to Japanese parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver a virtual address to the Japanese parliament to drum up international support against the Russian invasion. An online speech by a foreign leader in Japan’s parliament is considered to be “unprecedented”, said news agencies.

Japan has taken a tough stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unlike in the past, which is in sync with the stance adopted by the other countries in the Group of Seven (G7). In fact, during a recent visit to India, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, had urged his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, to take a tougher line on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Tokyo’s actions have triggered a retaliation from Moscow, who has discontinued peace treaty talks over the disputed Kuril islands and has withdrawn from joint economic projects with Japan. The two countries had never signed a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities due to a dispute over the Russian-held islands north of Hokkaido, the Kuril islands, which Moscow took at the end of the war.

Zelensky’s 10-minute speech will be telecast in a meeting room at the “powerful” lower house of the Japanese parliament, to which PM Fumio Kishida belongs to. Earlier, Zelensky has made virtual addresses to the US Congress, as well as to the parliaments in Europe, Canada, and Israel.