Press Conferences

Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs:I have an announcement at the outset.

The G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will be held from this evening until tomorrow at the Iikura Guest House. This will be the fifth G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in person under Japan’s Presidency and, for me, the second in-person meeting.

As this year’s G7 Presidency, Japan has been leading the G7’s discussions and delivering outcomes, giving priority to topics including maintaining and strengthening the free and open international order based on the rule of law as well as enhancing engagement with international partners.

The international situation has undergone profound changes in over a month since September’s G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York. In particular, the G7 members have been closely coordinating on the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine. On October 17, a G7 Foreign Ministers’ Telephone Talk was held, during which we confirmed our unequivocal condemnation of the recent terror attacks, the need to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the G7 members’ commitment to continued collaboration. Since then, the situation has continued to change rapidly, and tensions are heightening day by day.

At the meeting to be held amid these circumstances, I intend to once again conduct in-depth discussions on the Middle East situation with the G7 foreign ministers, bearing also in mind my visit to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.

In addition, the Indo-Pacific region, which has extreme strategic importance to Japan, and the situation in Ukraine, which has been discussed in various formats to date, will also be key topics on the agenda. In particular, as tensions increase in the Middle East, I believe that it is vital that the G7 unite, reconfirm unchanging commitment to strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine, and send out its message. Furthermore, to convey the G7’s commitment directly to Ukraine, we are arranging a dialogue session in an online format with Minister for Foreign Affairs Kuleba of Ukraine.

Additionally, with one of this year’s priorities being enhancing engagement with international partners, we are arranging an online dialogue session with five Central Asian countries. This will be the G7’s first time holding dialogue with Central Asian countries. Japan will be hosting a summit meeting with Central Asian countries next year, while other G7 members, such as the United States, the EU, and Germany, are also enhancing their relationships with these countries. Alongside their respective initiatives, it will be very meaningful if the G7 as a whole can send out a strong message on this occasion.

There are “two more months,” not “only two months,” of Japan’s G7 Presidency. We will fulfill the Presidency’s responsibilities until the very end and continue to make vigorous efforts to ensure that the G7 takes coordinated responses to the immediate challenges, including the ones I just mentioned.

That is all from me.

NHK, Igarashi:I have a question on the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. The meeting will be held later today as you noted at the outset. Amid the escalating situation surrounding Israel and Palestine, how does Japan as the Presidency intend to lead the discussion towards breakthroughs in the situation including humanitarian pauses?

Minister Kamikawa:Firstly, I would like to refrain from speculating about what will be discussed at the foreign ministers’ meeting, including whether we will be able to reach an agreement towards humanitarian pauses.

That being said, considering that tensions surrounding Israel and Palestine have continued to heighten day by day since the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Telephone Talk on October 17, the ministers once again will be holding in-depth discussions at the meeting.

I will contribute to the discussions based on Japan’s position, including that the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is the top priority, and that humanitarian assistance to this end, as well as humanitarian pauses and access, are necessary. In addition, I intend to effectively fulfill my duties as the chair.

Kyodo News, Katsurada:I would like to ask about the situation in the Middle East. The Israeli military’s attacks on Gaza in Palestine have resulted in numerous casualties, and the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Guterres has stated that they constitute a violation of international law. Do you have any intention of stating that the attacks are a violation of international law and calling for an immediate ceasefire? Please also tell us your reasons.

Japan deems that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine constitutes a violation of international law. Could you please explain the reason once again?

Minister Kamikawa:The first was a question on the assessment under international law and an immediate ceasefire.

Japan refrains from making any definitive legal assessment of the actions of the Israeli military. Generally speaking, the fundamental norms of international humanitarian law must be upheld in any situation. For example, attacks that needlessly involve innocent civilians are a violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and cannot be justified.

From this perspective, Japan has been consistently calling on all parties to act in accordance with international law. We have been urging Israel to act in accordance with international law in view of the importance of protecting civilians, while stating that Japan unequivocally condemns the terror attacks by Hamas and others. I directly conveyed Japan’s message to Foreign Minister Cohen of Israel at the recent Japan-Israel Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The top priority right now is improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The situation is becoming increasingly severe, and I am deeply saddened that civilians, especially children, women, and the elderly, are suffering. First, we are making various diplomatic efforts including calling on allowing humanitarian pauses and ensuring humanitarian access so that necessary assistance will be delivered to the people in the Gaza Strip. I also directly explained these points to Foreign Minister Cohen.

Based on the constantly changing situation on the ground, we intend to persistently continue our diplomatic efforts to calm down the situation as soon as possible, improve the humanitarian situation, while communicating with relevant countries and international organizations.

With regard to your second question on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Russia unilaterally launched its aggression against Ukraine and is infringing on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The relevant UN General Assembly resolutions for which Japan supported state that Russia’s act is a violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. Both Japan and the international community, including the G7, have articulated that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine constitutes a grave violation of international law which prohibits the use of force.

Anadolu Agency, Furkan:Foreign Minister Kamikawa met face to face with your Israeli and Palestinian counterparts through your weekend trip to the Middle East. This week you are hosting your G7 counterparts in Tokyo, hosted by Japan. The term of presidency comes every seven years. G7 Foreign Minster's Meeting under the leadership of Japan occurs the same time in the period of intense Israeli strikes on Gaza. Approximately 10,000 Palestinians including nearly 5,000 children have lost their lives in Gaza in Israeli strikes so far. Although Israel declares that it targets terrorists, it's a clear fact that nearly 10,000 innocent civilians lost their lives in the attacks. As Japan, what do you expect from the joint declaration of the G7 Foreign Minister's Meeting? As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, do you plan to call for a ceasefire in Gaza in order to stop the death of innocent civilians, instead of calling for a humanitarian pause.

Minister Kamikawa:The G7 members are coordinating to issue an outcome document of some sort at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. However, as this is currently being coordinated, I would like to refrain from answering about the details at this time.

Yomiuri Shimbun, Kamimura:As you briefly touched on in your opening remarks, the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will include an outreach session with Central Asia. Could you please tell us which countries will be participating and the objective of the session?

Minister Kamikawa:With one of this year’s priorities being enhancing engagement with international partners, we are arranging to hold an online dialogue session with five Central Asian countries. While Japan will be hosting a summit meeting with Central Asian countries next year, other G7 members such as the United States, the EU, and Germany are also enhancing their relationships with these countries. Alongside their respective initiatives, it will be very meaningful if the G7, as a whole, can send out a strong message on this occasion on strengthening relationships with Central Asian countries.

In addition, tensions are rising in the Middle East. I believe that it is vital that the G7 unite, reconfirm unchanging commitment to strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine, and send out its message. Furthermore, to convey the G7’s commitment directly to Ukraine, we are arranging an online dialogue session with Minister for Foreign Affairs Kuleba of Ukraine.

Pan Orient News, Azhari:An Israeli defense official reportedly called for the use of nuclear weapons against Gaza. This threat was an admission that Israel has nuclear weapons. Such a statement encourages Arab and Middle East countries to acquire nuclear weapons for self-defense. Do you condemn Israel for threatening of using nuclear weapons? Do you plan to apply any pressure on Israel to sign the NPT Treaty or apply sanctions in the same way you did with North Korea?

Minister Kamikawa:Firstly, we are aware of the reports on the Israeli minister’s remarks. We understand that Prime Minister Netanyahu commented that the remarks are not based in reality, and the minister who made the remark will not be allowed to attend cabinet meetings for the foreseeable future.

Furthermore, we are aware that Israel has already signed but not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). On numerous occasions, Japan has called on countries to sign and ratify the CTBT to promote its entry into force.

Japan is aware to the extent of what is in the reports and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response.