KYOTO, Jan. 20 - Japanese businesses are ready to help Ukraine take a leading position among developed countries, the chairman of the Japanese-Ukrainian Economic Council, Hakuo Yanagisawa, has said.

"In the future we would like to more actively develop economic relations between our countries, both in the energy sector and in the sphere of direct investment, as well as in the provision of assistance and support by Japan in order to ensure that your country, Ukraine, takes a really leading position among developed countries as soon as possible," he said at a working lunch between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and members of the Japanese-Ukrainian Economic Council in Kyoto on Thursday.