How much do you know about Ukrainian activism in Japan? Ukrainian community is extremely persistent and Ihor Ihnatiev, our America House Leadership Program alumnus, proves it. He was living and working in Tokyo, when the full-scale invasion started. Despite everything, Ihor has managed to stay calm and do as much as possible to help his nation.
Ihor is a co-founder of Stand With Ukraine Japan organization. Together with his friends he provides a humanitarian help for Ukrainians and educates Japanese about our culture.
My main goal, which I set for myself in the organization and general, is to show that Ukraine is not only about the war.
What were you doing in Tokyo before February 24th?
I worked in a small startup. I have been working there for about a year. There were only three of us: me, a British, and a German. Somehow, the three of us tried to take out a lot of projects at the same time. Frankly, the workload was intense; there was never enough free time. But I still tried to follow the news somehow. Until February 24th, it was also quite tense. There was a strange feeling when you were sitting at work as if you were working, but still, you were constantly distracted, thinking about something. When I met with friends, all the conversations were about that. Before that, there was some rejection of this war. But the days before, there was a feeling that something had to happen. Everything was coming to a climax. And actually, at the end of February, my friends and I started thinking about organizing some protests. On February 23rd, when these banana pseudo-republics were recognized, we went to our first protest in front of the Russian embassy. And since then, the story of Stand With Ukraine in Japan has begun.
How did that protest go?
First, we got acquainted with the Japanese bureaucracy; it is everywhere here. But we learned what Japanese bureaucracy is like in terms of protests. It was impossible to be near the Russian embassy itself, so we were put a little aside near a small, fast food restaurant at the crossroads. All Ukrainians were standing there. A lot of camera people came. I have probably never seen so many cameras in my life before. Everyone there followed us, asked a lot of questions, and there were a lot of interviews. It was probably the strongest Japanese practice in my life because I didn't speak as much Japanese as I did then. In general, it was calm. Only five people at a time were allowed to approach the Russian embassy. We were forbidden to have any speakers, turn on music, they controlled what slogans we shouted, and so on. In general, everything went fine.
What were your first thoughts and actions when you first heard of the Russian invasion on February 24th?
It was 10 in the morning in Japan. I went to the migration center to submit documents for my girlfriend's visa. I was walking along the road when I got a notification. I don't remember which news channel it was, but there was something about Putin starting an emergency broadcast. I opened just at the moment when he said he was starting a so-called "special operation." At first, I was in shock. I expected it before. I immediately wrote my girlfriend and mom and asked what was going on. When I arrived at the migration center, I continued checking the news. More and more channels were publishing about it. At one point, I was trying to do what I started, submitting the documents, and figuring out which line I should join. But at the same time, I was trying to understand what I should do next. I was also texting with my friends. Everyone already knew about it. We were doubting about organizing the demonstration, but we registered for Saturday at that time. And it was Thursday. We called the police again and said we were doing another one on Thursday, the same evening.
There was a strange moment at the migration center when I said very loudly that Russia had started a war with Ukraine, that Russia had invaded Ukraine. And I was completely ignored. People did not react in any way. People just looked at me and continued to stand in the line. I thought, damn it, will they continue to respond like this?
Tell us about launching Stand With Ukraine Japan.
There is a community of Ukrainians in Japan on Facebook. Before that, my friends and I wanted to hold a demonstration, but there were only four of us at that time. We knew there were other Ukrainians, but abroad they are quite separate from each other, especially in Japan. I even wrote to some people offering to watch football together, and almost no one responded. I took a shot to write about the demonstration in the community, and maybe someone would like to join. But then I saw another girl, Sasha, wrote the same thing. I told her the four of us would go to the demonstration near the Russian embassy. She joined us. A friend of mine called the police to register the protest, and we did it on February 23rd. On the 24th, we did it again, and more people showed up. Some participants came up to us and asked, "what are we going to do next?". We said, "let's meet this Saturday." We started planning what it should be, created an Instagram page, and launched the first post about the upcoming protest.
At that time, we did not understand what it would be. Then we came up with the name "Stand With Ukraine" because it was the first thing that came to mind. On February 24th, we created an Instagram page with this name. On Saturday, we didn't know how many people would come. We thought there would be about 200 people, but 2,500 of them came. We blocked the main entrance to the biggest station in Tokyo, Shibuya. It's where the busiest intersection in the world is located.
Because of us, it was impossible to approach it, and instead of the planned 3 hours, we had only one hour of protest. People called the raid police, who were supposed to disperse us because we did not give them access to the station. It was a small transport collapse. We realized that, okay, we got the attention. Now we have to keep it and develop it. That same evening, the most proactive among us gathered in a coffee shop near Shibuya.
We decided on the main directions of our organization: keeping attention to Ukraine, organizing protests and demonstrations, and promoting it so more people would come. Then I decided that I wanted to promote Ukrainian culture. I wanted to do it in Japan before, but I didn't know how. With that attention to Ukraine, there's a good chance to do it. It is terrible, of course, to say "a good chance" in such cases, but that's how it is.
What are the most significant achievements of this organization so far?
We had a great parade in Omotesando, a district in the center of Tokyo. This is the street where the most fashionable boutiques are located, and local millionaires live. There were, I think, 3,500 people at this parade. We had a lot of support; cars drove by and honked at us. We were also featured on all Japanese channels. During this event we managed to collect about 10,000 dollars. Random people were coming up and putting money into these boxes. We probably made the biggest statement about ourselves and who we are that day. I think the coolest is yet to come. Soon we'll be holding a festival of Ukrainian culture on July 9th, dedicated to the Ivan Kupala holiday. We expect it to be even better.
How many Ukrainian refugees are there in Japan? Why do they decide to move so far?
There are about 1,500 people. Most of them are relatives of those who lived in Japan before. Some people, by the way, come without relatives, or as we call it here, guarantors. Japan helps them more than those who have a guarantor. It's a bit strange for me, but these people have generally dreamed of Japan for a long time, wanted to come here, and were looking for ways to do so.
To be honest, this is not the best place for refugees. I do not recommend it because Japan is very different from other countries, and it isn't easy to adapt here. Here it would be best if you had a base, a job, something like that. It is a different world. Many people, who came to meet family, are the mothers of those who live or study here. There are a lot of funny stories about them, how they go out on the streets, communicate with local grandmothers through Google Translate, etc. It is difficult for them, but they gradually get used to it.
What are the biggest needs of refugees: food and clothes or job and apartment?
I would say job and apartment. Our organization helps refugees. We don't mainly advertise it on social networks, but we do it. We even have a small cafe in Tokyo that has agreed to provide its location so we could create a refugee aid center. There is psychological help; there is a Ukrainian library, which was made by one of our participants. She agreed with the Old Lion publishing house and the YMCA charity fund (it's not just a song, it's also a charity fund). The fund paid for the books and their delivery to Japan. A children's library is coming up soon. We are also collecting things there, like clothes, someone brings food. During the demonstration, some Japanese people could say, "I have 10 kilograms of beets. Who can I give them to?" Sometimes, groceries stores contact us. Also, travel agencies offer to take Ukrainians somewhere.
But it's more complicated with jobs because almost every requires knowledge of Japanese. It is not Europe; English will not work here, even if you know it. IT specialists probably find it easiest here because you can still get by in English without Japanese. But, for example, someone's mother there, who worked as an accountant in Ukraine, can either work here as a cleaner or something else.
Where do the donations that you collect go?
We send donations only to Ukraine and only for humanitarian needs. In Japan, an article in the constitution says that Japan is a pacifist country. Japanese have no right to send money to any army or support any military. We are very often asked where exactly we send money, and they make sure that it does not go to the military. Once, we were collecting for turnstiles, but they told us that it was for the military, and it is not allowed.
That is why we are sending for humanitarian needs only. We are working with volunteers in Ukraine. At the beginning of the invasion, it was Kherson, Chernihiv, Kyiv region, Mariupol, and Mykolaiv. Now it is mainly Mykolaiv and Kharkiv. In Kharkiv, there's an organization called Rescue Now. One of the founders is my friend, who often posted about it on his Instagram. Kharkiv entrepreneurs united and created this fund. They made a cool page on Instagram and a website. They also made a page in English. And we help them. They are evacuating people from Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions. They also buy food and medicines. A very wide range of work, they are really cool. They have constant reporting, which is very important for us. One of the conditions of sending money is reporting. We need receipts, photos, and so on. We also publish donation stories for the Japanese. Those are individual stories about how their money helped someone. They like to see the result of donations.
How do the Japanese treat Ukrainians? Are there volunteers among them?
We have ten core team members and approximately 150 volunteers. Of these 150, about 120 are Japanese. They strongly support Ukraine. You see flags, "no war" signs, or something else. Someone dresses in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, wears ribbons, sticks them on windows, and ties them to cars. They did not form an image of Ukraine yet, because, before the invasion, the Japanese knew very little about Ukraine. They knew Shevchenko (the one who is a football player and not a poet, unfortunately) and Chornobyl. Sometimes when I spoke about Ukraine there, they thought it was in America. Some thought it was near Israel, Palestine, in that area. People really did not know. However, Japan probably has the highest level of appearance of Ukraine in the media. Ukraine is still on the front pages of newspapers and television. While Europe has already begun to forget about it, it is still there in Japan. But the Japanese are still more for peace and not for the victory of Ukraine, like us. They believe, for example, that the Russians are against war and that this is Putin's war. They have such a point of view.
We recently had an information campaign, the message of which was that every Ukrainian has his own front line. For some, it is joining the army. For some, it is fighting on an informational front line; for some, it is preparing food or sorting boxes in warehouses. How would you describe your front line?
I would say mine is more of a cultural one. My main goal, which I set for myself in the organization and general, is to show that Ukraine is not only about the war. I am afraid that Ukraine will become known as Afghanistan, or Palestine, as countries where people do not know anything about except that there is a war going on. For me, it is probably more important to inform people that we are unique and have many cool things in the country. The last event I did was about coffee culture in Ukraine. We brought coffee from Ukraine; we got a lot of alternative ways of brewing coffee, all these pour-overs. I talked about Kyiv coffee shops, how cool "Kashtan" is, how fancy "Takava" is, etc. In the end, people were surprised it was so cool in Ukraine and even wanted to visit it after the war. It's essential to show the real Ukraine so that companies would consider opening businesses there after the war or investing in Ukraine. This is my front line.
What has changed the most in your life since the full-scale invasion?
Before, every weekend I rode somewhere in Tokyo, Japan. Now every weekend I go to demonstrations. I devote a lot of time to this. It isn't easy with work because now there are only two people left in our startup, and we have a lot of projects. But I'm trying to do it at the same time. Sometimes there are moments of breakdown. But then, somehow, I stabilize and remember why I do it.
Why will Ukraine win?
Because Ukrainians have finally united, this did not happen for a long time. Even during the Maidan, people were not as united as they are now. Ukrainians understood who they were. We have had so many challenges in history, and so much has already been experienced. The fact that Ukrainian culture exists, the Ukrainian language has not disappeared, and we have a strong identity means a lot. And now, there simply cannot be anything else.
When people donate their last money to the army, when people try their best to support, and even the guilt that people have for not doing enough, it also shows that they care about their country. They understood that they had their own home that needed to be defended. Well, after all, no country that has started a war has yet won.
AH Community Stories is a series of interviews where we tell about our friends and their stories of bravery and resilience.