U.S. urges Japan not to recognize Palestine as state ?

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.