Japan will not recognize a Palestinian state for now, a decision likely taken to maintain relations with the United States and to avoid a hardening of Israel's attitude, the Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified government sources.
Several governments, including those in Britain, France, Canada and Australia, have said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month, adding international pressure on Israel over its actions in the territory.
The US had prompted Japan to forgo the recognition of a Palestinian state through several diplomatic channels, while French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had strongly urged his Japanese counterpart to recognize it, Kyodo news agency reported last week.
Japan has been conducting a "comprehensive assessment, including appropriate timing and modalities, of the issue of recognizing Palestinian statehood," Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news briefing on Tuesday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government's top spokesperson, repeated the statement at a news conference on Wednesday when asked about the Asahi report. But Hayashi expressed a "grave sense of crisis" over the Israeli ground assault on Gaza City, saying "the very foundations of a two-state solution could be collapsing".
He urged Israel to "take substantive steps to end the severe humanitarian crisis, including famine, as soon as possible".
At a UN meeting on Friday, Japan was among 142 nations that voted in favor of a declaration outlining "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
But Asahi said Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to skip a September 22 meeting on the subject during the UN gathering in New York.
Within the Group of Seven nations, German and Italian officials have called an immediate recognition of Palestine "counterproductive".
