Japan to unveil $1 bn aid to Ukraine

Japan plans to provide nearly $US1.0 billion ($A1.11 billion) in financial aid to Ukraine, public broadcaster NHK says.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to announce the support when he attends a Group of Seven meeting in the Netherlands on the sidelines of a nuclear-security summit next week, NHK said on Friday.

Tokyo's assistance will include loans and other financial support - totalling 100 billion yen ($A1.08 billion) - for infrastructure and other public projects in co-operation with the International Monetary Fund, it said.

Abe told parliament on Wednesday: "It is important to improve Ukraine's economy for the sake of a peaceful resolution of the situation."

Japan has joined the United States and other allies in ramping up the pressure on Moscow, but the crisis has created a tricky balancing act for Abe, who has held multiple summits with Putin since coming to office in late 2012.

Abe was one of the few pro-Western leaders who attended the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi and held talks with President Vladimir Putin as many others stayed away amid disquiet over Moscow's anti-gay laws.

The Japanese leader has been pushing to expand the two countries' economic ties - as Tokyo finds itself embroiled in separate territorial disputes with China and South Korea - but isolating Putin over Crimea threatens to derail sensitive talks.