TOKYO, April 5, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Twenty Ukrainians arrived in Tokyo
Tuesday on a government plane with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi after
his trip to Poland, as Japan cautiously welcomes those fleeing Moscow's
invasion.

  Japan typically accepts just a few dozen refugees a year from thousands of
applicants, and while it has cracked open its doors to Ukrainians, it calls
them "evacuees" rather than refugees.

  The 20 Ukrainians flew with Hayashi from Poland, where he was on a multi-
day trip to offer support for Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion.

  "We learned there were several people who sincerely wished to evacuate to
Japan, but had difficulty in securing travel means on their own," top
government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said in a press conference on Tuesday.

  "From a humanitarian point of view, 20 of these people were invited to fly
on a government plane."

  Japan has so far received 404 other Ukrainians, said Matsuno, after Prime
Minister Fumio Kishida last month announced a plan to accept those fleeing
the war.

  But they are not designated as refugees, which would entitle them to stay
in the country at least five years before applying for more permanent leave
to remain.

  Instead, the "evacuees" receive a 90-day visa that can be converted to a
one-year status with permission to work.

  Japan has joined tough Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion, and
on Tuesday announced an additional $100 million in humanitarian aid for Kyiv,
following another $100 million donation to Ukraine and neighbouring nations
announced last month.

  In 2020, Japan accepted just 47 refugees and 44 people on humanitarian
grounds out of nearly 4,000 applicants, and rights groups have long accused
Tokyo of doing too little to help those fleeing conflict.