Ukraine Apologizes to Japan for Associating the Former Emperor with Hitler

After showing pictures of Japan’s wartime Emperor Hirohito together with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in a social networking video about the defeat of fascism, an official Ukrainian government Twitter account apologised. “Our heartfelt apologies to Japan for this oversight,” read a message on the Ukrainian Twitter feed. “We had no intention of offending Japan’s friendly people.” The post was supplemented with an edited version of the video that did not include Hirohito’s image.
The tweet went viral over the weekend, prompting Japan to issue an official protest. It also risked alienating some conservatives in Ukraine, a country that has been staunchly supportive of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since the Russian invasion began.

Japan has joined its ally the United States and other leading democracies in imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, breaking with its pacifist tradition by sending non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine. It has also taken the unusual step of welcoming a few hundred refugees fleeing the conflict.

Masahisa Sato, the chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s foreign policy committee, said on Twitter on Sunday that he had urged the Foreign Ministry to protest to the Ukrainian government. He later added that it appeared the ministry had done so, and the “problematic” video had been removed.

While some Twitter users said they had lost interest in supporting Ukraine because of the post, others said it would have been more appropriate to use a picture of Hideki Tojo, who was Japan’s prime minister for most of WWII and was later hanged as a convicted war criminal.

The Japanese people have backed a tough stance to punish Russia for the invasion. According to a poll conducted by the Nikkei newspaper on April 22-24, 42 percent of respondents believe Japan’s sanctions against Russia should be strengthened, while 44 percent believe the current sanctions are adequate. More than 62% of those polled approved of the government’s overall handling of the war.