Japan to reject Palestinian state recognition at UN to avoid ‘annoying’ Trump

Analysts say the decision puts Tokyo in a ‘weak position’ as other US allies are expected to support the resolution at a UN summit

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Smoke rises as a building collapses after being hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on September 5. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:30am, 21 Sep 2025

Japan will not recognise a Palestinian state at a UN meeting next week amid concerns that doing so could worsen the situation in the Middle East and hurt its ties with the United States, a move one analyst described as “embarrassing”.

Several US allies including Britain, Australia, Canada and France have said they will back the formal recognition of a Palestinian state during the United Nations General Assembly summit that begins on Monday.

But Tokyo’s position was influenced by the US, which “conveyed its opposition to Japan regarding the matter”, the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing government sources.

Japan has long advocated for a two-state solution that would see both Israel and Palestine exist alongside one another in peace. It also condemned Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war and resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 65,000 people in the besieged enclave, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said the new Israeli assault to take complete control of Gaza “will further aggravate the already dire humanitarian crisis” and could “undermine the very foundation of a two-state solution”.

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