How Japan is mobilising global expertise to clear Ukraine’s landmines
Japan is leading a global effort to help Ukraine recover from one of the world’s most dangerous legacies of war, millions of landmines contaminating its soil.
In partnership with The Government of Japan
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00:00After nearly four years of war, Ukraine is the most heavily mine-contaminated country
00:28in the world, with millions of landmines and unexploded weapons scattered over nearly
00:33a quarter of the land. This invisible danger is wrecking lives. More than 900 civilians
00:40have been killed or injured.
00:52In Tokyo, the Japanese government has just hosted the annual Ukraine Mine Action Conference.
00:58Globally, Japan is one of the major supporters of Ukraine, having provided $12 billion in
01:05financial aid, equipment and training since 2022.
01:11This conference is an opportunity to coordinate international support, technical, financial
01:16and humanitarian, to accelerate demining in Ukraine. The emphasis is not only on making
01:23the country safer right now, but as an economic gateway to the future.
01:30The Japanese foreign minister said landmines cast a dark shadow over Ukraine's future,
01:36stressed the importance of mine action through international public-private partnerships.
01:41China.
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02:01Mr. Mortegi outlined a new package, the Ukraine Mine Action Support Initiative,
02:11which aims to boost human resources and technology, integrating mine action into Ukraine's
02:17broader recovery. He also announced a new partnership with Colombia, another country
02:23with a history of landmine contamination and a financial contribution to the NATO fund that
02:29supports mine action in Ukraine. Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and
02:37Agriculture says the ongoing conflict makes clearing landmines even more dangerous.
02:43It's really complicated our work. But we're doing it because if we will wait when war will
02:51stop, we will lose totally our economy because our economy is in a big part. It's agriculture,
02:58production.
03:01Japan and Ukraine have developed a new approach, the so-called Nexus, which is all about getting
03:07rid of the landmines, but also what comes next.
03:11Nexus idea is not doing just clearance. It's a clearance. It's thinking about future and
03:17what will happen in the area in the future after clearance, what will rebuild and in what
03:22time period, how we work with local authorities, how we work with local citizens, local business.
03:30Japanese engineering and manufacturing company Niken Corporation has given 12 landmine clearance
03:37machines to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict.
03:39Niken machine is being put through its paces in a real-life simulation.
03:53Here in Cambodia, officers from Ukraine's emergency services are learning how to use the equipment
04:00on the ground before heading home where they'll train up their colleagues in turn.
04:07Coordinated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, this training camp pulls together expertise
04:14from the Cambodia Mine Action Center and Niken to pass on knowledge and skills to trainees from the Ukrainian
04:19state emergency service. This is one of several training sessions JICA has held in Cambodia, a country that knows all too well the deadly toll that landmines are
04:26and they'll train up their colleagues in turn.
04:28Coordinated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, this training camp pulls together expertise from the Cambodia Mine Action Center and Niken to pass on knowledge and skills to trainees from the Ukrainian State Emergency Service.
04:40This is one of several training sessions JICA has held in Cambodia, a country that knows all too well the deadly toll that landmines are
04:49exact.
04:50Mining is not used to be a lot of local police officers.
04:55The landmines are damaged, farmers cannot be cleaned up.
04:59There are also areas where people want to live, but there are dangerous areas.
05:06There are dangerous areas where the landmines are damaged, their homes, their homes, their homes, their homes, any buildings, any buildings they want to be cleaned up.
05:17There are also very dangerous lines of transport, various infrastructural objects on the occupied territories.
05:30Back in Tokyo at the Ukraine Mine Action Conference, Kameishi Hiroto of JICA says the training program is two-pronged.
05:38The idea is that the Ukrainian officers in Cambodia will now train up their colleagues back in the field.
05:52We really hope that those kind of trainers will be the focal or core of the human resource development in Ukraine.
06:09While efforts in Cambodia aim to prevent future casualties from mines, the toll in Ukraine is already immense.
06:18With tens of thousands of people there in need of prosthetic limbs, one Japanese company is exploring how its technology could help.
06:26Obara Kogyo is a fourth generation Tokyo based prosthetics company with more than 70 years of experience.
06:38Obara Kogyo has received inquiries from organizations in Ukraine, and is considering how best to respond to the efforts of the
07:08We've seen an evident need for prosthetics, but in a country where medical facilities are over-stretched.
07:15We've seen the brute strength of the demining machine in action in Cambodia, and other technologies are also in development to try and minimize the risks to soldiers on the ground.
07:44Industrial drone company ProDrone is working with Tokyo consultancy Padeko and two local Ukrainian partners to develop AI-powered drones that can detect mines from the sky.
07:59Someone said to demining in Ukraine takes more than 100 years.
08:04But, well, we didn't calculate, but if this technology can contribute, then it's going to be much faster and less dangerous.
08:14It is very, very high technology, because lower altitude is very difficult to fly, but our drone can do only 20 centimeters.
08:26Then, if one meters, the detector cannot detect anything.
08:31The drones use software to map the exact location of where the mines are detected. The flight path is also programmed so the drones fly autonomously.
08:44Nagoya-based ProDrone is currently testing them at its headquarters and invited a delegation of Ukrainian companies to watch.
08:53I'm thinking of a drone that was created using the drone.
09:00The drone is now designed to fly on the ground, and the distance is to fly on the ground and the area is to fly slowly.
09:07And the distance is to fly around the ground.
09:09We put it together and put it together and turn it into a large area.
09:21Vlad Kozak of the Ukrainian Foundation Post-Up was in Nagoya.
09:25This year, we had a project with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine,
09:29where we surveyed 5 million square meters of suspected hazardous areas
09:35and confirmed hazardous areas.
09:37So, we used agricultural drones that were mostly popular in Ukraine.
09:41And right now, we went to the next level to try and test custom-made solutions for such applications.
09:51The widespread use of landmines has decimated farming.
09:55Before the war, much of this land was used for agriculture.
09:59Ukraine exported enormous quantities of food.
10:02It was known as the breadbasket of Europe, and its agriculture sector accounted for around 10% of its GDP.
10:12At a side event during the conference, Ukrainian chef Yevhen Klopotenko was serving up Ukraine's borscht soup,
10:18made from vegetables from fields recently cleared of landmines to raise awareness.
10:23Three years ago, four years ago, you've been farming all of your life.
10:27And then Russia invaded and mined all the territories.
10:32And then was the time when we pushed the Russian army back.
10:37And now, again, we have these fields, but they are mined.
10:40And the farmers, they can only farm.
10:42And that's their craft.
10:44Every day, they can be killed.
10:45They can be killed by the drone, or they can be killed by the mine.
10:48So, that's the real price of the food.
10:51It was a moment for local people to find out more about Ukraine and landmines,
10:55and of course, taste the traditional dish.
10:58I'm arobot.
11:00I have to see the fact that there are many trees inside.
11:03I'm shocked it.
11:04I'm sure we're not at Kimono, and I think that the people tend to worry about them.
11:05And if the publicZoos don't see them,
11:07I don't think that there can be a place of life,
11:08and the people tend to worry about life in the forest.
11:10I feel like they are in a park.
11:12I'm scared for the people.
11:13I can get in the park.
11:15And I'm afraid they might be with these trees that are in the park.
11:17I can get there.
11:18In the park.
11:21And if there are people who do this setting for money,
11:23I think the happening.
11:24I can get there for fun.
11:25And we can get there for fun.
11:26to the new agreement signed and fresh partnerships launched.
11:31Japan's role in Ukraine goes beyond funding.
11:34It's a full-scale effort saving lives and preparing the ground
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