MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, having visited Kiev on March 21 and met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, continues to pursue Tokyo’s policy as Washington’s obedient ally, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told the RT TV channel on Friday.

"From my point of view, Mr. Kishida just continues a policy he started many, many years, or many, many months ago since he assumed this position of the prime minister of Japan. <...> He plays his role as a leader of a country that is an obedient ally of the United States of America," he said commenting on Kishida’s visit to Kiev.

The senior Russian diplomat also noted that this development was very unfortunate because Tokyo’s adherence to Washington’s anti-Russian strategy led to worsened relations and the rupture of "many mutually beneficial ties between Russia and Japan."

On March 21, the Japanese prime minister visited Kiev where he met with Zelensky. The planning for the visit observed all necessary information security measures and was unannounced by Tokyo. This was the first visit of the Japanese prime minister to Ukraine since the onset of Russia’s special military operation. He was the last G7 leader to visit Ukraine.