Tuesday 3 November 2026
6:00pm – 8:00pm

Can Cherry Trees Bring Hope to Ukraine?

Drinks reception from 7:15pm

13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle (entrance facing Regent's Park), London NW1 4QP

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Masatoshi Asari, a 95-year-old Japanese cherry-tree creator who has spent more than 50 years sending sakura overseas, will make his final ‘gift of peace’ next spring when his ornamental cherries go to Ukraine in 2027, five years after the war started. Throughout his life, Asari has regarded cherry blossoms as symbols of peace, friendship and reconciliation.
How can Japanese cherry trees support humanitarian activities in Ukraine, a country devastated by war? Can cherry trees be a testament of hope there? Tracing the human stories behind the trees, this talk will explore these questions.

London-based journalist and author Naoko Abe will begin by sharing the life and philosophy of Masatoshi Asari, who has dedicated himself to sending cherry trees to more than a dozen countries around the world. Ryotaro Sakamoto will then discuss the role of cherry trees as a form of humanitarian support, drawing on his grassroots projects in support of Ukraine over the past four years. Finally, Svitlana Opanasenko, a Ukrainian who supports Ukrainian refugees in London, will share insights into the current situation in Ukraine from the perspective of local communities, and discuss how people in Ukraine are receiving the cherry trees and what these trees may mean to them.

NOTE

The talk will be accompanied by an exhibition at the Daiwa Foundation featuring drawings of cherry trees by Ukrainian children. The exhibition will be open from 3 to 17 November 2026.

This event is organised in collaboration with the Japan-Ukraine Sakura Peace Initiative, which is leading the effort to send Asari’s trees to Ukraine.

About the contributors

Naoko Abe

Naoko Abe is a London-based Japanese author and journalist who has lived in the UK since 2001. Her first English-language book, ‘Cherry’ Ingram, The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms, was published in 2019 to critical acclaim. The book won several awards in Japan and in the UK, and has been published in 8 languages. Her second English book ‘The Martyr and the Red Kimono’ was published in 2024 in English, and was translated into Dutch and Japanese. The Polish translation is on the way. Naoko was invited to the Nobel Peace Prize committee in Olso in the summer 2025 to talk about the book with its chairman, Jørgen Watne Frydnes. She has been active in spreading peace messages through cherry blossoms. She is the co-founder of JUSPI (Japan-Ukraine Sakura Peace Initiative).

Ryotaro Sakamoto

Ryotaro Sakamoto (born Nagano, 1986) is the owner of Warsaw Japanese Language School and Co-Representative of the Japan-Ukraine Sakura Peace Initiative. For his humanitarian support for Ukraine he has received the Shinmai Selection Award (2022), an Ambassador’s Commendation (2023), and the International Soroptimist Chikuma Award (2026). He was selected as one of ‘50 Friends of Ukraine’ in 2026.
He holds a graduate degree from Civitas University in Poland, specialising in diplomacy. Through his book With Ukraine (2023, Futabasha), he has raised funds for humanitarian aid, including the purchase of ambulances for Ukraine. He is also a wadaiko (Japanese drum) performer and released the charity CD Inori in 2024 to support Ukraine.