Misleading Photo of the Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Dressed as a Samurai
The Claim
A photo depicts the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine, accompanied by the news that he refused to leave Ukraine after receiving the Samurai sword.
News posted on
Emerging story
A photo purported to be of the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine, Kuninori Matsuda, has recently circulated on websites, accounts, and pages on Facebook and Twitter. It came with the news that he had refused to leave Ukraine after receiving the Samurai sword.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulated claim and discovered it to be misleading. The photograph did not depict the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine, Kuninori Matsuda, but rather the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan, Sergei Korsunki, dressed as a samurai. On February 15, he tweeted a message to Russia saying, "We know what we're fighting for. What about Russia?"
The claim started circulating after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation in eastern Ukraine at the crack of dawn on Thursday, February 24, 2022, just a few days after signing a decree recognizing the provinces' independence Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Translated by Wesam Abo Marq
