Budget support and recovery: Minister of Finance of Ukraine met with Japan’s Minister of Finance in Tokyo

On March 2, Ukraine’s Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko met with Japan’s Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama in Tokyo.

The parties discussed further budget support for Ukraine, the implementation of the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration for Ukraine (ERA) mechanism, and joint reconstruction projects.

The Minister of Finance of Ukraine expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan for its consistent and large-scale support since the beginning of russia’s full-scale aggression.

Since February 2022, Japan’s budgetary assistance to Ukraine has exceeded USD 9.5 billion - the second-largest amount among countries and the fourth among all donors. Of this total, USD 1.5 billion has been provided in grants.

Particular attention during the talks was paid to the implementation of the ERA mechanism. In 2025, the countries signed an Agreement providing for a loan to Ukraine of up to JPY 471.9 billion (about USD 3 billion) under the ERA framework. The loan is serviced and repaid using future revenues generated from immobilized russian sovereign assets.

Ukraine has already received the first tranche from Japan under the ERA mechanism - USD 544 million. The funds were delivered through the World Bank’s PEACE in Ukraine program and were allocated to finance priority state expenditures, including pension payments and social support programs, such as housing and utility subsidies.

The Minister also expressed appreciation for Japan’s decision to defer until 2032 payments on certain loan obligations of Ukraine totaling JPY 24.2 billion (about USD 161 million). This step further helps reduce the debt burden on the State Budget amid the war.

The parties also focused on the implementation of the Programme for Emergency Recovery by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The total financing under the program amounts to JPY 106.3 billion (about USD 737.7 million).

At the beginning of 2025, Phase 4 of the program was launched with grant financing of JPY 8.8 billion (about USD 58 million), directed toward:

• energy;

• water supply and sanitation;

• restoration of regional infrastructure;

• humanitarian demining;

• public health and safety;

• vocational education and training.

In January 2026, with JICA’s support, Phase 5 of the program was launched with a budget of JPY 6.2 billion (about  USD 39.7 million), aimed at accelerating recovery and addressing the consequences of russia’s armed aggression.

Under the program, Ukraine has already received specialized machinery and equipment for the energy, transport, agro-industrial, healthcare, education, waste management, water supply, and humanitarian demining sectors.

Japan’s Minister of Finance reaffirmed her readiness to continue cooperation and support for Ukraine during the full-scale war, as well as throughout the reconstruction process.