"The Japanese government, which currently has no plans to recognize Palestine, is asking itself not whether to do so, but when to do so. This was stated by Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, commenting on the decisions of some countries to recognize Palestinian statehood.
„For our country, the question is not whether to recognize it as a state, but when to do so. Based on this, we will closely monitor changes in the situation in the future and carefully consider this issue,“ he said.
Earlier, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya announced that Tokyo had decided not to recognize Palestine during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. At the same time, he criticized Israel's "unilateral actions", calling for action to end the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
On September 21, the heads of government of Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada announced the recognition of Palestinian statehood. Later, the Portuguese foreign minister did the same.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced in advance that he would hold a conference at the UN on September 22 on the issue of recognizing Palestine, regardless of the fighting in Gaza and other steps by the Israeli authorities. On July 24, he announced that France intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly.