The programme included a visit to Hiroshima, where Deputy Minister Przydacz took part in a ceremony to appoint Tomohide Karita as Polish Honorary Consul and paid tribute to the victims of the first nuclear bomb.

The focus of the visit was political consultations with Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Shigeo Yamada. Minister Przydacz also had meetings with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kenji Yamada as well as with Minister Masataka Okano from the Prime Minister’s Office. The political agenda centred on security, with a particular focus on the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Also discussed were the main global challenges and the state of play of bilateral cooperation. The talks reaffirmed the two sides’ agreement on the most important international issues.

At the Japanese Parliament, the undersecretary of state met with the leadership of the Japanese-Polish Parliamentary Friendship League. Deputy Minister Przydacz thanked parliamentarians for their continued efforts to strengthen Polish-Japanese relations and provided them with information on Poland’s involvement in helping Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.

He talked with Japan’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Nonaka Atsushi about the promotion of Polish agri-food products and access to Japanese markets.

The undersecretary of state held a lecture at the Japan National Press Club on the security crisis in Eastern Europe and its implications for Asia and the Pacific. Deputy Minister Przydacz also underlined the unprecedented nature of Russian aggression, which jeopardises not only the existence of Ukraine but also the future of the world order based on rules and international law. He underlined that the community of democratic states needs to provide further support to Ukraine, even if it involves certain sacrifice. “Freedom and stability come at a price,” said the Polish official. He added that if the free world remains decisive and determined in the face of the Russian aggression, it will thus prove false the claims of the demise of democracy worldwide. It would discourage other regimes, including in Asia, to follow in President Putin’s footsteps and challenge the status quo by means of force.

The Polish delegation visited Hiroshima to pay tribute to victims of the first nuclear bomb. The memory of their suffering is particularly important in the context of Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons against a resisting Ukraine.

Łukasz Jasina 

MFA Press Spokesperson