The day before, Politico, citing two unnamed diplomats, reported that during a meeting of G7 ministers, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama ruled out the possibility of using about $30 billion to issue a loan to Ukraine, citing legal problems.
This is “completely untrue,” Mimura said. According to him, Japan acts in the interests of Ukraine, since one day it may itself face a similar situation in East Asia.
Katayama never made such comments at a G7 meeting, he noted. The minister told her G7 colleagues that Japan was “preparing to take concrete steps to support Ukraine.”
Context
On December 8, The Times wrote, citing sources in the British government, that European countries will announce an agreement has been reached to unlock frozen Russian assets during the current or next week. The agreement will provide for the allocation of £100 billion (about €115 billion) to Ukraine from frozen Russian funds.
On the same day, the G7 countries, which includes Japan, issued a statement about readiness to consider the confiscation of Russian assets frozen abroad for aggression in Ukraine. At the same time, the G7 indicated that they intend to “remain within the legal framework.”
