Cautious regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for both economic and diplomatic reasons, Japan has hesitated to recognize Palestine, even while supporting a two-state solution. Asked on Friday, August 8, about the possibility of Japan following France, the United Kingdom and Canada on this issue, government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi remained noncommittal: "We are conducting a thorough review of both the timing and the appropriate method in order to support progress toward peace."

A petition advocating for the recognition of Palestine, signed by 179 lawmakers (out of 722), was nevertheless submitted to the government on August 8.  "I think Japan should have been the first government among the G7 nations to recognize the State of Palestine because Japan is the only G7 country that is not based on a Christian civilization. (...) But now we are missing the bus, and I really regret it," said Taro Kono, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, former foreign minister (2017-2019) and the originator of the petition, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on August 6.

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