Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan on the Situation following the presidential and parliamentary elections in Kenya

January 1, 2008

While commending on the one hand the peaceful manner in which voting was conducted during the presidential and parliamentary elections in Kenya on 27 December 2007, Japan regrets the confusion during the subsequent process of counting the ballot and announcing the results of the presidential election, as well as the violent incidents which followed in various parts of Kenya and resulted in numerous deaths and injuries. Japan calls on all concerned to exercise restraint and to respect human rights, so as to ensure the safety of all the Kenyan people and foreign citizens residing in Kenya.
Japan calls for a peaceful and judicious resolution of the situation based on the law and without a further deterioration of the status quo. Japan calls upon leaders of the government and opposition parties to begin talks aimed at reconciliation so as to avoid a regression in Kenya's democracy.

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