November 10, 2023

Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko, who visited Palestine early this month, insisted, “I will refrain from legally assessing,” whether Israel’s land invasion of Gaza constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law during an Upper House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on November 9.

She said this to Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Yamazoe Taku who asked if her visit to Palestine led the Japanese government to legally determine that Israel’s acts violate international humanitarian law.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said, “Not fully knowing what is actually going on there, Japan cannot make such a legal judgement at this point (Upper House Budget Committee, Nov.1).”

Yamazoe asked Kamikawa, “What was the purpose of your visit?”

She answered, “I heard directly about the damage and I became strongly aware of the severity of the damage.” She, however, failed to recognize that Israel’s actions could be a breach of international humanitarian law.

Yamazoe criticized, “Regardless of whether or not Japan knows the details, the government intends to hold its tongue for political reasons about the relevance between Israel’s acts and international humanitarian law.”

Noting that the G7 Foreign Ministers’ joint statement calls for only humanitarian “pauses” in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Yamazoe pointed out, “This would be equivalent to accepting a subsequent restart of fighting.”

He demanded that the Japanese government work with the international community for a permanent “ceasefire”.

Kamikawa in response insisted on “pauses” by saying, “Japan has already called on Israel to take ‘pauses’ for humanitarian purposes.”