Press Releases
Declaration of State of Emergency in the Maldives Following a Decision by the Supreme Court
(Statement by Foreign Press Secretary Norio Maruyama)
February 6, 2018
1. Japan is closely following with interest the situation in Male, the capital city of the Republic of Maldives, and the declaration of State of Emergency.
2. Japan hopes the situation will be resolved peacefully without resorting to violence.
3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to take necessary measures to ensure the safety of Japanese residents and visitors in the Maldives.
[Reference 1] Declaration of State of Emergency in the Republic of Maldives following a decision by the Supreme Court (the times stated below are local times).
- (1) On February 1 the Supreme Court issued a judicial decision calling for the release of nine political dissidents including Mr. Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives (now in exile in the United Kingdom). Opposition supporters have been gathering and demonstrating to demand that the decision be respected.
- (2) On February 5 H.E. Mr. Yameen, President of the Maldives, sent letters to the Supreme Court asking for the withdrawal of the Supreme Court’s decision.
- (3) On February 5, President Yameen declared a 15-day State of Emergency.
[Reference 2] Number of Japanese nationals in the Maldives (Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas (2017))
- Number of Japanese residents : 177
- Annual number of Japanese visitors : 39,244 (2015)