Japan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine, Masashi Nakagome, met with multiple senior Ukrainian authorities this week as his diplomatic mission came to a close. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivsky met with Nakagome on Thursday, Aug. 13, thanking him for years of joint projects with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to Vyhivsky’s statement, the two discussed further cooperation on broader security and emergency response equipment, as Japan weighs joining the Drone Deal initiative.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Japan remains one of the key partners of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine,” Vyhivsky said, adding that “we are counting on strengthening our cooperation further.” Police and emergency equipment donations Under the Interior Ministry’s cooperation with Japan, Tokyo supplied Ukraine with technical equipment for border control, forensic laboratories, and specialized tools for humanitarian demining operations. According to Vyhivsky, Japan also funded vehicles for Ukraine’s “Barrier-Free Driving Schools” – a program that provides people with disabilities, including former soldiers that lost limbs or civilians wounded by Russia’s aggression, access to driver’s education and retraining on hand-controlled vehicles. “There have also been training sessions that allowed our specialists to learn from the experience of other countries,” Vyhivsky said.