Russian-run restaurant in Japan to hire Ukrainian evacuees

A restaurant operated by a Russian mother and daughter in Japan is planning to hire Ukrainian evacuees to help people get back on their feet and express opposition to the invasion.

Anastasia and Daiana Stetsyuk, 40 and 20 years old, run the Russian restaurant Matreshka in Chiba, which opened four years ago and serves home cuisine such as borscht.

Daiana said that although the Ukrainians may be still feeling anxious after coming to Japan, they'd like to do whatever they can to help

Anastasia was born in the Russian city of Khabarovsk and moved to Japan for work 20 years ago. Her father is from Ukraine, and she has relatives and acquaintances there. Ukraine has been under Russian bombardment since February.

She was in disbelief for days when the Russian invasion began. When she found out that evacuees were arriving in Japan in late March, she started making calls to hire them using the restaurant's social media accounts.

So far, they've spoken with over ten people and met with four of them in person about possible work, the majority of them are women in their 30s or 40s. Individuals who were visiting Japan for the first time and those who had lost loved ones in the invasion were among them.

Individuals working in the kitchen do not need to be fluent in Japanese. They plan to hire as many people as possible if obstacles such as those with working visas can be resolved.

The restaurant also has a food truck and sells bento lunch boxes at supermarkets.

Daiana has received messages in Japanese telling her to "go back to Russia" on social media, but as she has continued to post messages of support, she has also gotten words of encouragement.

Daiana has been warned by family in Russia to avoid making public statements for fear of attracting the authorities' notice, but she remains committed. She said that while they don't know if the Ukrainian people will survive, she's doing what she can for them right now.