Officials from Mykolaiv City Council travelled to Japan to learn from their experience, not simply to rebuild, but to make radical changes

Officials from Mykolaiv studied Japan’s experience in reconstruction; photo from the Mykolaiv City Council’s page

Ihor Nabatov, Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services, and Ihor Filippov, Head of the Mykolaiv Development Agency, travelled to Japan on a working visit to study reconstruction practices.

This was reported by the press service of the Mykolaiv City Council.

It is noted that the visit took place as part of the «Comprehensive Urban Recovery and Transformation» programme, organised by the Ministry of Development, the World Bank and the World Bank’s Tokyo Development Learning Centre (TDLC).

Mykolaiv officials studied Japan’s reconstruction experience, photo from the Mykolaiv City Council’s page

Mykolaiv officials studied Japan’s experience in reconstruction, photo from the Mykolaiv City Council’s page

Officials from Mykolaiv visited Hiroshima and Tokyo. Mykolaiv City Council reported that representatives of the city council were studying Japan’s experience — «how, following large-scale destruction, the city was not merely rebuilt but radically transformed to meet people’s needs».

«The main lesson to be learned from Japan’s experience is simple yet profound: proper reconstruction is not merely a return to the former state, but a genuine transformation. It requires systematic thinking, long-term commitment and the courage to build something better than before. Mykolaiv is moving in this direction,» said Ihor Filippov, as quoted by the Mykolaiv Development Agency.

Mykolaiv officials studied Japan’s experience in reconstruction

The city council’s statement notes that Mykolaiv is already laying the foundations for recovery: a comprehensive master plan, systematic approaches to housing construction, infrastructure and the environment.

«Mykolaiv is cooperating with a broad coalition of international partners. In particular, with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), we already have a concrete joint result — an operational infrastructure for processing construction waste,» noted the Mykolaiv City Council.

According to the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan, a high-level Ukrainian delegation visited Japan at the invitation of the World Bank from 6 to 10 April as part of the «Technical Deep Dive: Integrated Urban Recovery and Transformation in Ukraine» programme. In addition to representatives from Mykolaiv, the delegation included representatives from the communities of Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Bucha and Makariv. The delegation was led by Nataliia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, and included representatives from the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance, as well as experts on the implementation of projects in the field of recovery and housing policy.

Mykolaiv officials studied Japan’s experience in reconstruction, photo courtesy of the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan

The programme included expert sessions, practical discussions with Japanese and international partners, as well as an introduction to the experience of post-war reconstruction in the cities of Hiroshima and Tokyo, strategic urban planning, housing policy and infrastructure project management.

As a reminder, in March, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych and Chief Architect Yevhen Poliakov visited Taiwan, where they took part in a conference on sustainable development and digital services.