Japan urged Israel to guarantee Gaza aid access and confront illegal settlements and settler violence throughout the occupied West Bank.
Key Developments
- Japan strongly urged Israel to ensure unimpeded humanitarian operations by international organizations and NGOs throughout the Gaza Strip.
- Japanese State Minister Ayano Kunimitsu said settlement activities violated international law and expressed deep concern over settler violence.
- Tokyo’s intervention followed its July commitment to Palestinian state-building and long-term development through the Japanese-led CEAPAD initiative.
Japan called on Israel to guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip during a meeting between Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ayano Kunimitsu and Israel’s ambassador-designate to Japan, Emanuel Navon.
The meeting took place on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
During discussions concerning the situation in the Middle East, Kunimitsu strongly urged Israel to “take appropriate responses to ensure unimpeded humanitarian assistance activities by international organizations and NGOs in the Gaza Strip.”
Her statement placed particular emphasis on the ability of international organizations and non-governmental groups to conduct humanitarian operations without obstruction.
The intervention came amid the continuing humanitarian consequences of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, where the destruction of essential infrastructure has left the population heavily dependent on external assistance.
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‘Without Delay’
Kunimitsu also raised Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank, describing settlement activities as a violation of international law.
The Japanese state minister expressed deep concern over the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and ongoing settler violence against Palestinians.
She “strongly urged” Israel to adopt appropriate measures “without delay,” according to the Foreign Ministry statement.
The occupied West Bank has witnessed escalating attacks by illegal Israeli settlers, alongside intensified Israeli military operations targeting Palestinian communities, property and land.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have expanded military operations across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
These operations have included killings, mass arrests, forced displacement and home demolitions, while the expansion of illegal settlements has continued.
Palestinian communities have also faced mounting settler violence, often accompanying attempts to seize land or force residents from their homes.
Japan Declares Global Support for Palestine Will Continue to Grow
Japan Reaffirms Support
Kunimitsu’s statements followed a broader declaration by Japan in July reaffirming its commitment to Palestinian state-building.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said at the time that Tokyo expected international support for Palestine to continue growing.
Motegi made the remarks while co-chairing a ministerial meeting of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development, known as CEAPAD, in Manila.
“The viability of Palestine is essential to realize a two-state solution,” Motegi told the conference.
CEAPAD, a Japanese-led initiative established in 2013, coordinates assistance from East Asian countries for Palestinian development and institution-building.
Motegi identified healthcare, education, agriculture and tourism as priority areas for Japanese support, stressing the importance of medium- and long-term investment in Palestinian institutions.
Japan has used the framework to combine humanitarian assistance with development projects intended to strengthen Palestinian governance and economic capacity.
(PC, Anadolu, Official Statements)
Never mind, Chinese, Koreans (North and South) and as well as Russians would just benefit from that anyway, in regards of Russia, if only Japan had reconsidered its claim on Kuril Islands (its not a Japanese name like Sakhalin) to Moscow then I think Tokyo should sit back and watch how China and Russia are winning everywhere to which Japan is losing, its also because, like how Ukraine would sit back and admit that Crimea, Donbass and Donetsk are Russian – prior to that Georgia had Abkhazia and South Ossetia handed to them (Russians) just as Finland with Karelia, then Japan would accept that Kurils are part of Russia as Sakhalin is already with the latter.
Blah, blah, blah … The issue is Palestine! Occupied Palestine! Occupied by the Zionist entity. Free Palestine! Resistance! Liberation! End of the Occupation. So, you want talk about the Victoria Nuland, CIA, Neocons, EU/NATO/5-eyes pro-Nazis project? Find another channel.
Talk is cheap.