Japanese Lawmakers Urge Govt to Recognize Palestine
A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers on Thursday urged the government to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state, citing the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Members of the Nonpartisan Parliamentary Association for Reconsidering Human Rights Diplomacy, including its secretary-general, Tomoko Abe of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, visited the Foreign Ministry on the day and handed a written request for state recognition of Palestine to Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
During the meeting, Iwaya said that, while Japan will recognise Palestine "sooner or later," it has to "think seriously and comprehensively about how to prompt a 'two-state solution,'" as Israel is hardening its stance in the face of moves in the international community to recognise a Palestinian state.
In the written request, the group emphasised that "now is the time to accelerate the recognition of Palestine as a state."
The group said it has gathered signatures for the request from more than 200 lawmakers across party lines.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
