ID :
704050
Fri, 09/05/2025 - 02:04
Auther :
JIJI
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/704050
The shortlink copeid

Japan Considering Whether to Recognize Palestinian State

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government is considering whether to follow suit after France, Britain and other countries recognized a Palestinian state, officials said.

 

Tokyo aims to express its position on the matter at a summit meeting on the Palestinian issue, scheduled for Sept. 22 in New York on the sidelines of a U.N. General Assembly session.

 

Japan supports a two-state solution, which calls for peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel. It does not recognize Palestine as a state in consideration of the United States and Israel.

 

"We will conduct a comprehensive review to consider the appropriate timing and how it should be," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference Thursday, referring to the possible recognition of a Palestinian state.

 

In addition to France and Britain, Canada, Australia, Belgium and other countries have announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state in an effort to pressure Israel into a ceasefire with Hamas amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

 

"Japan has entered a phase requiring it to think about" the recognition, a Foreign Ministry official said. Another ministry official said Japan will likely be asked to express its stance at the U.N. General Assembly.

 

A Japanese government official, however, said that it would be "difficult" to make a decision.

 

Japan, as a country that places importance on "human security," cannot leave the humanitarian situation in Gaza unattended, a Foreign Ministry official said. But any decision by Tokyo to recognize a Palestinian state will certainly "provoke a backlash from Israel," a Foreign Ministry official said. The possible backlash may hinder Japanese assistance to Palestine.

 

Tensions may also arise between Japan and the United States, which supports Israel. "If Japan approves it, the international community may see it as distancing itself from the United States," a Foreign Ministry official said. "Any decision will be up to the prime minister's office."

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