Japan has warned it would consider "new measures and a response" if Israel takes steps that block the path toward a two-state solution in Palestine.
"Japan fully supports the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their own independent state," Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at a UN conference on Palestine in New York.
"Should Israel take further actions that block the path to the realization of a two-state solution, Japan will be compelled to introduce new measures and a response," Iwaya said.
He stressed that Tokyo has long supported a two-state solution, adding: "For my country, the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state is not a matter of if but when."
Japan has so far resisted calls to formally recognize Palestine, even as countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK, France, Belgium and others have done so in recent weeks.
Grave juncture
"The sharp deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the expansion of settlement activities in the West Bank and the step towards annexation are completely unacceptable," Iwaya said.
"Japan strongly condemns these actions and calls on Israel to immediately cease all such unilateral measures."
He warned the situation had reached "a grave and alarming juncture that threatens the very foundation of a two-state solution."
While noting "tangible contributions" Japan has made to reconstruction in the occupied West Bank, Iwaya said Tokyo would "continue its comprehensive deliberations with even greater seriousness" while insisting that Palestine must be able to exist "in a sustainable manner, living side by side in peace with Israel."
For the first time last July, Japan imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers for their involvement in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The conference took place one day before the opening of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, and days after UN investigators concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, where more than 65,300 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
