Japan yields to US pressure, says won't recognize Palestinian state
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Japan withholds recognition of a Palestinian state under US pressure, despite global calls and concern over "Israel's" Gaza City invasion.
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Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa speaks during the International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the "Two-State solution" at UN Headquarters, on Monday, July 28, 2025 (AP)
Japan has decided it will not recognize a Palestinian state for the time being, a choice likely made to maintain its strong relations with the United States and to avoid provoking a hardening of "Israel's" stance, Reuters reported, citing an Asahi newspaper article quoting unidentified government sources.
Adding international pressure on "Israel" concerning its genocide in the Gaza Strip, several governments, including those of Britain, France, Canada, and Australia, have declared their intention to recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly this month.
According to a report last week from the Kyodo news agency, the United States had prompted Japan, through several diplomatic channels, to forgo the recognition of a Palestinian state. Conversely, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had strongly urged his Japanese counterpart to recognize it.
Japan assessing issue
At a news briefing on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya stated that Japan is comprehensively assessing the issue of recognizing Palestinian statehood, including the appropriate timing and methods for doing so. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government's top spokesperson, repeated the statement at a news conference on Wednesday.
Expressing a "grave sense of crisis" over the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza City and saying that "the very foundations of a two-state solution could be collapsing," Hayashi urged "Israel" to "take substantive steps to end the severe humanitarian crisis, including famine, as soon as possible."
Parliamentary group demands recognition
A nonpartisan parliamentary group that includes members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted a petition with 206 signatures to Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Thursday, urging the immediate recognition of Palestine, according to a Kyodo news agency report on September 11.
In turn, Foreign Minister Iwaya responded by stating that the petition will be taken seriously, considering the number of signatures collected, adding that the foreign ministry will further consider the matter.
Although Japan was among the 142 nations that voted in favor of a declaration at a UN meeting on Friday, which outlined "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" toward a "two-state solution", the Asahi newspaper reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to skip a meeting on the subject scheduled for September 22 during the UN gathering in New York.
