Japan will provide $65 million (¥9.7 billion) in additional humanitarian aid to Palestinians out of concern over the conflict in Gaza, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said during a tour of Israel and Jordan on Friday.
"It is necessary for Israel and Palestine to be able to coexist peacefully in order to prevent the repeat of another tragic act of terrorism," Kamikawa said, speaking to reporters in Jordan after meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, adding that she had communicated Japan's continued support for a two-state solution to both of them.
The visit comes days before Japan is set to host the foreign ministers of the industrialized Group of Seven nations in Tokyo as the crisis in Gaza deepens, with Israel resisting calls for a humanitarian pause and the leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group warning of the conflict spilling over to neighboring areas.