Tokyo – Around 2,000 people including Ukrainian nationals living in Japan staged a rally on Saturday in front of the Shibuya crossing, a famed Tokyo landmark, protesting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Protestors held Ukrainian flags and signs reading “Stop the war in Ukraine” and “Hands off Ukraine.” Russians and Japanese nationals also joined the rally that was organized via social media, as fighting persists in the former Soviet republic after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Thursday and Ukrainian forces continue to fight back.
From Tokyo through Warsaw and London to New York, thousands have protested in recent days against the invasion, Europe’s biggest security crisis in decades.
Iryna Kulbanska, who hails from the Luhansk oblast in eastern Ukraine, expressed concern over her parents who remain in the capital Kyiv and told her they have repeatedly heard explosions and gunfire.
“I feel anxious as I don’t know what could happen next,” she said.
Despite weeks of diplomatic efforts by major powers and their threat of imposing sanctions, Russia still went ahead to launch what Ukraine called “a full-scale invasion” on Thursday.
Maryna Artyushenko, who also joined the rally, said she is worried that the situation could worsen as the unfolding events in the crisis are changing day by day.
“I urge the Japanese government to implement sanctions that would have an immediate impact” on Russia, she said.
“I just want to say, ‘Putin stop this, regain your sanity,'” said Hiroshi Sawada, a 58-year-old musician who attended the rally in Tokyo.
A 28-year-old Russian worker who asked not to be named said none of the people she knew from her home country supported the war. “We hate what is just happening now in our country,” she said.
Joining the United States and other nations, as well as the European Union, in imposing sanctions on Russia, Japan has unveiled its own set of punitive measures.
On Friday, Japan laid out a set of tighter sanctions against Russia featuring a freeze on assets held by Russian banks and curbs on exports to military-linked groups in response to the invasion.
The new sanctions package also includes export controls on semiconductors and other high-tech products, as well as a suspension of visa issuance for certain Russian individuals and entities.
A 37-year-old man who participated in the rally said that he had been unable to contact his sister in Kyiv since the first day of the Russian invasion, but that his mother contacted him 15 minutes ago, telling him that she is safe. The war should be ended, he said.
Vasily Kulazhonok, 43, from Minsk, the capital of neighboring Belarus, said, “All Belarusians are for Ukrainians in their hearts,” and called for powerful sanctions on Russia, such as its disconnection from SWIFT and a trade embargo.
Anna Parkhomenko, 33, from Kyiv, said, “I would like to tell people all over the world not to be silent, not to think that this is not their problem.
“Everyone should say no to this.”
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