Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a plenary session of the Upper House on Feb. 12. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Feb. 12 reiterated Japan’s plan to accept injured people from the Gaza Strip for treatment but said that has nothing to do with President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate the Palestinian population. 

“We are keenly considering the possibility of treating a very small number of patients in Japan who have difficulty being treated locally,” he said in response to a question from Hirofumi Yanagase of Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) during an Upper House plenary session.

Ishiba also said, “The main premise is that they will return to their home (after treatment).”

The plan to support the wounded and sick in Gaza is separate from the plan to support human resource development, including the acceptance of foreign students from Gaza to Japan, Ishiba emphasized.

“The purpose is not to relocate people from the Gaza Strip to Japan,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed that the entire population of Gaza be forcibly relocated out of the region and that the United States take ownership of Gaza and rebuild it into a resort-like area. 

Ishiba said that Japan’s support for the wounded and sick and for human resource development “has nothing to do with the president’s series of statements.”

Related News