At a meeting in Kyiv, acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Rostyslav Karandieiev and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan Moriyama Masahito discussed cooperation and support for Ukraine in the culture sector.
That’s according to the Ukrainian ministry’s press service, Ukrinform reports.
“Japan helps Ukraine a lot. All Ukrainians know this. The Japanese government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are providing assistance in the implementation of numerous projects at present. I am pleased that the Japanese government is directing a significant degree of attention towards the cultural sphere. Even before the full-scale war, contacts between Ukraine and Japan were quite fruitful and effective, but now our cooperation is particularly dynamic,” Karandieiev said.
He also thanked Japan for its financial assistance in implementing the project “Support to Ukrainian Culture and Education through UNESCO,” as well as for its support of Ukraine’s national public broadcaster and solidarity with Ukrainians.
Karandieiev outlined Ukraine’s need for the protection of cultural heritage, as more than 1,080 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine have already been damaged or destroyed as a result of Russian aggression, including museum objects.
Currently, Ukraine must modernize the restoration center, exchange experience in the restoration of museum objects, construct a specialized storage facility—a national depository—to guarantee optimal storage conditions for evacuated museum collections and artworks, and digitize the sector.
“We believe that culture and art, even in times of war, give people the strength to live, and also serve as a bridge between countries. We would like to deepen cultural exchanges between our countries with maximum support. Additionally, Japan is a country that upholds the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is our intention to maintain our comprehensive support for Ukraine’s recovery,” Moriyama emphasized.
The Ministry noted that Japan today remains a key partner of Ukraine in Asia and will continue to support Ukraine, including in the area of culture and media.