Press Releases
Telephone talk between Japanese and French Foreign Ministers
In light of the hostage incident of Japanese individuals in Syria, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who is currently visiting the UK, had a telephone talk with French Foreign Minister Fabius at 19:50 (local time) on the 20th for ten minutes.
1. Foreign Minister Kishida made following points:
(1) ISIL has released a video on the internet this morning announcing its intent to kill Japanese individuals. A threat of this kind in exchange of peoples’ lives is unacceptable, and I feel strong indignation.
(2) The assistance of 200 million dollars which was announced by Prime Minister Abe is to make as much contribution as possible in the non-military areas, such as to provide assistance to the refugees. The ISIL’s response to such efforts is a manifestation of their savage nature.
(3) Japan will not succumb to terrorism, and will contribute to the international community’s fight against terrorism.
(4) Japan asks for the support of the French government in collecting information on facts of the situation and the cooperation towards early release of the Japanese individuals.
2. In response, Foreign Minister Fabius stated that he was shocked to hear the report that two Japanese individuals were taken hostages. He said that France would fully cooperate with Japan for the early resolution of the incident and intended to continue to closely collaborate.