Japan won't recognise a Palestinian state given US ties, media report says

Japan will not recognise 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 recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month, adding international pressure on Israel over its actions in the territory.

The U.S. 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 recognise it, Kyodo news agency reported last week.

Japan has been conducting a "comprehensive assessment, including appropriate timing and modalities, of the issue of recognising 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 favour 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". 

Luxembourg says will recognise Palestinian State

Luxembourg has said it will join a raft of countries recognising the State of Palestine at a United Nations summit in New York next week.

Speaking to journalists late Monday, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden said that "the situation on the ground has deteriorated considerably in recent months".

"A movement is now emerging in Europe and around the world to demonstrate that the two-state solution is still relevant," Frieden said.

"That is why the Luxembourg government intends to join those who recognise the State of Palestine at next week's conference on the two-state solution."

Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,905 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

UN investigators on Tuesday stated that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in a bid to "destroy the Palestinians", blaming Israel's prime minister and other top officials for incitement.