Uganda is home to 1.4 million refugees, majority of whom hail from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Japan government has contributed $2.7m to the refugee program in Uganda.
The contribution will be channeled through United Nations agencies and will go towards welfare support of refugees and their host communities.
A chunk of that contribution will also be used to enhance border security in Uganda for one year, Japanese ambassador to Uganda, Kameda Kazuki, said.
The contribution brings the total contribution this year to $4.1m (sh15.1b), Kazuki said.
The official announcement of Japan's contribution was slated for March, but was differed to a future date because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Uganda is home to 1.4 million refugees, majority of whom hail from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"I am pleased to announce a fresh contribution by the Government of Japan through several UN agencies …. In addition, Japanese government provided emergency funding of more than $1.4m in June this year through UNICEF for provision of supplies as well as essential healthcare services, targeting children and women in face of the rapidly increasing demand due to the spread of COVID-19," he said.
Hilary OneK, the Minister of Relief and Disaster Preparedness, hailed the Japanese government's gesture, saying Uganda was proud of Japan not only for the support to refugees but also for other government projects.
"When I was agriculture minister Japan helped us develop upland rice. It has now spread to all parts of the country. Also as disaster minister, they sent us several tons of rice to fight drought in Karamoja. Even in Kasese they have been trying to find ways how they can help us mitigate landslides and the havoc created by River Nyamwamba," he said.
"We are appreciative of the partnership and support extended to the Republic of Uganda in terms of Humanitarian support, development assistance and technical support."
Elsie G Attafuah, the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Resident Representative for Uganda, said: "This assistance is significant for United Nations not just because it was extended at the beginning of the year for us to kick start the operation of the year, but also came at the right moment when the global pandemic started to impact across the world on humanitarian and development interventions both from the funding and operational perspective.
The contribution has helped us continue delivering critical activities in Uganda to support the government and help the people on the ground."
Attafuah commended the strong partnership between Uganda's host communities and refugees.
She said host communities where refugees are located have been supported together with refugees.
"We in the UN family make conscious efforts to ensure that whatever programs we design respond to the needs of refugees and host communities as well," Attafuah said.