Hundreds gather at pro-Palestine rally in Japan
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The demonstration denouncing "Israel's" genocide in Gaza was organized and shared by journalist Thoton Akimoto.
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Pro-Palestine rally in Tokyo where protesters are showing solitary for Palestine amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, August 24, 2024. (Screengrab from X/@AkimotoThn)
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Tokyo's Shinjuku district to express their solidarity with Gaza, while denouncing "Israel's" ongoing aggression and war crimes that have killed over 40,200 people, according to social media reports.
The rally information was shared by Thoton Akimoto, a journalist with an international platform, who called on Japan's residents from diverse backgrounds to stand in solidarity with Palestine despite "differences in skin color, nationality, religion, and language."
"What if they were your children?" Michelle, a Jewish American woman, said at the demonstration, questioning the international community's response to the occupation's daily aggression.
“I don't know what you have to do to bring your kids back in a plastic bag,” she added.
The Tokyo rally was one of many global protests held within recent weeks in protest to the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Japan considering formal recognition of Palestinian state: FM
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa stated in July that Japan is considering formally recognizing the State of Palestine, contingent on the progress of the ongoing "peace process" in the Middle East.
During a meeting in Tokyo, the 71-year-old Japanese politician stated that her government supports the proposed "two-state solution" to the decades-long Israeli occupation of Palestine. She expressed that Japan understands the Palestinians' aspiration to establish an independent sovereign state and supports the ongoing efforts to achieve this goal.
The top diplomat stated, “with regard to recognition of the Palestinian state, we want to continue to address this issue comprehensively, taking into account how to advance the peace process."
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit had earlier called on Japan to recognize the State of Palestine.
At the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, where he attended the 5th Japan-Arab Economic Forum, he said, “That is the only solution; the apartheid, annexation, and oppression committed by Israel are not feasible solutions."
Aboul Gheit stated that the Israeli occupation, oppression, and persecution of Palestinians and Arabs since 1967 led the Hamas Resistance movement to launch a large-scale operation, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Flood, against the Israeli occupation on October 7. He said that “Israel has the urge and desire to suppress Palestinian hopes of independence,” adding, “We, however, are calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
