By Stewart Carr

Published: 08:22 EDT, 27 March 2023 | Updated: 16:16 EDT, 27 March 2023

A Japanese student showed up to graduation dressed as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's lookalike - wearing his signature olive-colored clothing to show his support for Ukraine´s fight against Russia.

Most graduation ceremonies in Japan feature graduates in suits or formal attire. But Kyoto University has its own tradition of students who opt for fancy dress on their special day.

Buddhist monks and anime kittens were some of the costumes on display.

But this year, Zelensky was the star at the event.

'I am President Zelensky,' the unnamed student told local TV network Yomiuri. He added that it took him three months to grow his beard. 

The unnamed student, who does by the moniker Amiki on Twitter, decided to model himself on President Zelensky after being told he resembled him while growing his beard 

Since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has worn olive-coloured clothing in nearly all of his public appearances

He decided to be his lookalike for the graduation ceremony Friday, because 'since December, when I was growing out my beard, I was told I look like President Zelensky.'

His performance was not just a comical cosplay. The student, who goes by the moniker Amiki on Twitter, was holding a sign carrying messages expressing his support for Ukraine, along with a passage from Zelensky´s speech in December at the U.S. Congress.

In the video from TV Osaka, he said he respects Zelensky as 'the real man among men.'

'We stand for Ukraine! Justice will prevail in the end, I hope so. Glory to Ukraine,' he tweeted.

The student told local media why he chose to be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's lookalike for his graduation ceremony in Kyoto

The student also held a wooden shamoji - a rice serving spoon - like the one that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida presented to Zelenskyy as a gift during his secret trip to Kyiv last week. 

The rice paddle is a specialty of Hiroshima, where Kishida is from, and bears a prayer for victory, but was bitterly criticized by opposition lawmakers as 'nonsense.'

Giving a rice serving spoon to the leader of a country at war didn't seem appropriate, the student said. 'Nonetheless, I´m happy if the Ukrainian people were pleased and the traditional prayer behind it was conveyed.'

Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Korsunsky retweeted a scene from the video of the Zelenskyy lookalike, as well as the student's tweets showing solidarity for Ukraine.

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