Young Mongolian government officials to study in Japan with JPY 260 million aid

On Sunday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi held meeting with Mongolian counterpart B.Battsetseg in Ulaanbaatar.

In a meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Hayashi told B.Battsetseg that Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine violates international law and shakes the foundation of international order also in Asia, and therefore global solidarity is strongly required, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

B.Battsetseg “gave explanations based on Mongolia’s position,” the ministry said, apparently reflecting Ulaanbaatar’s reluctance to align with Western nations that have imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia.

After their first in-person meeting as foreign ministers, Hayashi and B.Battsetseg signed an agreement for JPY 260 million in Japanese aid to host young Mongolian government officials at graduate schools in Japan.

Given that Mongolia has close ties with North Korea, the ministers agreed to maintain their cooperation in dealing with Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear development, as well as the issue of its abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.

Later Sunday, Hayashi visited the Shine Mongol Harumafuji School, founded in 2018 with support from Harumafuji, a Mongolian-born former sumo wrestler who rose to the sport’s highest rank of yokozuna.