Japan to pledge $106M in aid to Ukraine, Kyodo News reports

PHOTO CAPTION: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits a site of a mass grave, in the town of Bucha, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will pledge 15.8 billion yen ($106 million) in aid to Ukraine at a conference to be held in Tokyo on Feb. 19, Kyodo News reported on Sunday, citing unidentified sources.

The funding will be used for reconstruction in seven areas, including agriculture and the disposal of rubble, Kyodo said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal are set to attend the conference, along with government and industry representatives from both countries, national broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.

Japan's Cabinet Secretariat was not available for comment outside of regular working hours.

Japan in December, after it overhauled its arms export guidelines, said it would prepare to ship Patriot air defence missiles to the United States.

Japan still cannot ship weapons to countries at war, but such shipments to the U.S. could indirectly benefit Ukraine by boosting Washington's capacity to provide military aid to Kyiv.

($1 = 149.3000 yen)



(Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Tom Hogue)