Minister V. Kondratovičius meets with Japanese Ambassador S. Shimizu
Minister of the Interior Vladislavas Kondratovičius met with Japan’s Ambassador to Lithuania, Shinsuke Shimizu, to discuss bilateral relations, the regional security situation, and opportunities for cooperation.
“Lithuania highly values its strategic partnership with Japan and its consistent attention to the security of our region. We see great potential to expand cooperation not only in security, but also in strengthening institutional resilience, civil protection, innovation, and migration policy,” the Minister V. Kondratovičius said.
Currently, around 100 Japanese citizens live in Lithuania and benefit from simplified immigration procedures. They can more easily obtain residence and work permits, as well as engage in business or self-employment.
The meeting also covered the Lithuania–Japan Youth Exchange (Working Holiday) Program, in place since 2019, which allows young people aged 18–30 to travel, work, and study more easily. “We encourage Japanese youth to discover Lithuania — they will find not only a safe and open environment, but also opportunities to create, work, and explore Europe. I believe that people-to-people connections are the strongest foundation for long-term partnership,” the Minister V. Kondratovičius added.
Significant attention during the meeting was devoted to the current regional security situation. Lithuania is facing hybrid threats whose origins are clear — the regimes of Russia and Belarus. These operations are deliberate and systematic, aimed at weakening state stability, disrupting institutions, and testing societal resilience, not only in Lithuania but across the region.
The Minister V. Kondratovičius highlighted various forms of hybrid threats, including the instrumentalization of migrants, damage to underwater infrastructure, propaganda campaigns, attempts to interfere in elections, and false bomb threats. A recent challenge has been repeated violations of Belarusian airspace involving smuggling balloons and drones.
Since the end of last year, such incidents have occurred almost daily. As a result, airport operations have been suspended multiple times, hundreds of flights disrupted, and tens of thousands of passengers affected. This poses a serious threat to civil aviation and causes economic losses. This year alone, airport operations have already been disrupted six times.
Since 2021, nearly 25,000 attempts to illegally cross the Lithuanian border from Belarus have been recorded. Lithuania is responding with comprehensive legal, diplomatic, and operational measures. While the situation is currently stable, an increase in secondary migration from Latvia has been observed.
Minister of the Interior also emphasized the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional security and expressed gratitude for Japan’s support. Russia’s aggression is fundamentally reshaping the regional security landscape. Japan’s consistent and principled support for Ukraine demonstrates the strong unity of democratic nations in defending international law and the rules-based global order.