Ukrainians Celebrate 75-Year-Old Japanese Cafe Owner in Kharkiv

• Positive film marks Fuminori Tsuchiko’s 75th birthday in Ukraine.
• Tsuchiko operates a free cafe in Kharkiv, aiding Ukrainian refugees.
• Anton Gerashchenko’s video gets 18,000+ likes, highlighting Tsuchiko’s support.

While Russia continues its over 600-day-long invasion of Ukraine, a positive film featuring a Japanese man living in the war-torn nation is becoming increasingly popular. In the viral video, the people of Kharkiv are marking the 75th birthday of Fuminori Tsuchiko, a Japanese guy who owns a free cafe.

Tsuchiko arrived in Ukraine for the first time as a tourist in January 2022, according to Ukrinform, the country’s information and news agency. Thousands of Ukrainian refugees were suffering during his visit, as the nation was plunged into conflict following the Russian invasion in February of that year.

Tsuchiko left for Japan but quickly returned to support the Ukrainian cause in Ukraine. He relocated to Kharkiv in May 2022 after selling his home in Japan, where he opened a cafe where he gives away free meals to the residents. His cafe is adjacent to the Heroiv Prati metro station, where residents had to seek refuge from shelling for several months. It is funded by contributions, the most of which come from Japan.

On Sunday, Anton Gerashchenko, the former deputy minister of internal affairs for Ukraine, posted a video of citizens of Kharkiv embracing Tsuchiko and giving him modest gifts while the audience sung Happy Birthday.

Take a look at the post below:

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Kharkiv residents wish Happy Birthday to Fuminori Tsuchiko. He sold his home in Japan and moved to Kharkiv to open a cafe in the city. The cafe offers free hot meals to about 1,000 people a day.

Thank you, Sir! Happy birthday! https://t.co/G0A1bt6uej pic.twitter.com/An1rgnLwTf

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) October 14, 2023

There are more than 18,000 likes on this video. Check out the responses below:

A person on Instagram remarked on it, “Happy birthday, Mr. Tsuchiko! You are an inspiration and a blessing to Kharkiv and the world. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. You have made a difference in so many lives.”

Another person wrote, “I cried watching this video. I am Kharkiv born and raised, graduated from Kharkiv University. Although I left 25 years ago, I still have many friends there… but I did less to help them than this Japanese old man. Happy birthday and huge respect to Fuminori Tsuchiko!”.

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