Japanese lawmakers urge government to recognize Palestine

ISTANBUL

Japanese lawmakers on Thursday urged the government to recognize Palestine, local media reported.

A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers, including members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, submitted a petition with 206 signatures to Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, urging the government to recognize a Palestinian statehood, according to the Kyodo news agency.

"Israel has no intention of agreeing to a ceasefire, and child hunger cannot be ignored," Tomoko Abe of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan said when she and two other opposition members of the group met with the foreign minister of the East Asian nation.

"I take this seriously since this many signatures were collected," Iwaya said, in turn, adding that the ministry will further consider the matter.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba used to head the nonpartisan group.

The petition comes days before several countries, including France, the UK, Canada, and others, have announced they will recognize an independent state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly session later this month.

Australia has also announced that it will recognize Palestinian statehood during the upcoming General Assembly session; however, Japan has yet to announce any concrete decision in this regard.

Separately, Iwaya on Thursday had a phone call with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, according to a statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

"Japan and France will work closely together on regional situations, including the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, and concurred to continue to closely cooperate on international challenges both bilaterally and among the G7," it said.

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 64,600 Palestinians since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.