Japan's main ruling party says Prime Minister Kishida Fumio may visit Ukraine. And he could keep it as a surprise for safety reasons.
Japan's prime minister normally reveals his travel itinerary to the Diet before taking any overseas trips.
But the Liberal Democratic Party's head of Diet affairs committee told reporters on Monday that a visit to Kyiv could be an exceptional case.
LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairperson Takagi Tsuyoshi said, "It is necessary to ensure the prime minister's security if he decides to go. The Diet should consider the current conditions."
The statement comes on the heels of US President Joe Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine last week.
White House officials said the trip took months to plan and was only disclosed to Moscow at the last moment.
Japan's prime minister is the only G7 leader who has not visited Ukraine since the start of the invasion, despite being invited by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kishida may be planning to go to Ukraine ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May.