Why is Japan hosting a conference for Ukraine reconstruction when it’s still at war? AP explains.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan is hosting a conference for Japanese and Ukrainian officials to discuss reconstruction of Ukraine just ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, while the U.S. and other Western countries are still focusing on military aid for the battlefield. Hundreds of senior officials and executives are attending the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction in Tokyo. Japan hopes the conference will help build support for Ukraine as the war drags on after two years, at a time when attention has been diverted to the situation in Gaza. Its support for Ukraine has largely been humanitarian assistance. It has limited its supplies of military equipment to non-lethal weapons.