[FALSE] Does this photo show Japanese ambassador staying to fight in Kyiv, Ukraine?

 

Screenshot of the Facebook post.

 

The Claim and Our Verdict

• The claim:A photo shared Feb. 26, 2022, along with a claim that it shows the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine who chose to stay in Kyiv and fight Russian forces.
• Fact-checking:
  • The man in the photo is not the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine, Kuninori Matsuda, as purported in the claim. The man in the photo is actually the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan, Sergiy Korsunsky. The photo was originally published Feb. 15, 2022 on his personal Twitter account. Korsunsky also refuted the rumor on Facebook.
  • The photo was taken before Russia invaded Ukraine and makes no reference to the Russia–Ukraine war.
• Our ruling: We rate the claim as FALSE.

News Brief

A Facebook post published Feb. 26, 2022, claims the photo shows the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine. The photo shows a man dressed in armor and holding a samurai sword. The caption, written in traditional Chinese, translates in part as, “The Japanese ambassador to Ukraine stayed in Kyiv. His great-grandfather’s samurai sword and traditional armor were delivered to him from Tokyo, Japan.”

As of the issuance of this report, the post had been shared 219 times, and it had received 67 comments and 2,333 likes or reactions.

Fact-checking

A reverse image search found that the photo was initially shared by Sergiy Korsunsky, the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan, in a tweet published Feb. 15, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Japanese-language tweet translates to English as: “We know what we are fighting for. How about Russia?” A twitter user retweeted the post and said, “Where is your helmet?” Korsunsky replied with a smiling photo of him without a mask.

According to the list of ambassadors to Japan (as of Mar. 8, 2022), Korsunsky is the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan. The twitter username “セルギー・コルスンスキー駐日ウクライナ特命全権大使” translates to English as: “Sergiy Korsunsky, the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan.” Korsunsky claims in his Twitter profile, that his location is in Minato, Tokyo. Minato is where the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan is based. Further, the link attached to his profile is the official website of the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan. The background of the photo shared in the tweet includes the State Emblem of Ukraine. Therefore, we can confirm the photo was initially published by the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan.
 

Screenshot of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

 
The website of the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan also incorporates a photo of Korsunsky. Therefore, the photo shows the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan rather than the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine.
 

A comparison of the photo shared in Korsunsky’s tweet (left), the photo he posted in a reply (middle), and the profile picture of the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan on the website of the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan (right).

 
Korsunsky published Feb. 24, 2022 a Facebook post to dispel the rumor. The post translates as, “How could it be considered here that this is my kind and respected colleague Japanese ambassador to Ukraine Mr. Kuninori—I don’t understand, but this is my last attempt to refute the rumor.”
 

Screenshot of Korsunsky’s clarification.

 
According to the official website of the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine, the current ambassador is Matsuda Kuninori (as shown in the photo here).
 

Screenshot of Matsuda Kuninori’s profile, Embassy of Japan in Ukraine.

 
The photo was originally published Feb. 15, 2022, by Korsunsky, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.