Mykola Kulinich
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary PhD in History, Full Professor of the Department of International Relations of the Faculty of Law and International Relations at Borys Hrinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University;
Halyna Sahan
Doctor of History, Full Professor of the Department of World History of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Borys Hrinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University
DOI:
Abstract. The article describes the history of the establishment of the Ukrainian community in Japan and analyses the historical presence of Ukrainians in the territory of Japan or the territories it controlled. At the initial stage of the development of Japanese-Ukrainian relations in the early 1990s, the Japanese had a very limited understanding of Ukraine, its history and culture, so an analysis of the history of intercultural communication before 1991 explains why it was so difficult for the Ukrainian community in Japan to establish itself after the collapse of the USSR and the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence.
By analysing the origins of Ukrainian-Japanese communication, the author presents the important contribution of such personalities as Yosyp Hashkevych, Vasyl Yeroshenko, Ivan Svit, and others, as well as the history of cultural and social activism of Ukrainians in Japan and in the territories controlled by Japan throughout the first half of the 20th century.
The article points out that the evolution of Ukrainians abroad was a complex process in Japanese public life, and in particular in the establishment of ethnic identity, consolidation and structural institutionalisation of Ukrainian migrants in Japan who arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
The article also explores the changes in the fate of the Ukrainian community in Japan after russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. In particular, the Japanese and representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora massively gathered in the streets to protest against russia’s military aggression and to provide humanitarian and other assistance. It is noted that Ukrainians in Japan actively contributed to the support and assistance to refugees from Ukraine, who sought refuge in the Land of the Rising Sun after russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In conclusion, the author points out that the historical experience of communication with Ukrainians contributed to the positive image of Ukrainians in Japanese society and politics and, accordingly, to the change in its migration legislation.
Keywords: Ukrainians in Japan, diaspora, Ukrainian-Japanese cooperation, Ukrainians in Manchuria, russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Download Article (ukr)
References