Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Takeshi Iwaya, once again reaffirmed, at the opening of the ministerial meeting of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-9) held Tuesday in Yokohama, the official position of Japan regarding the separatist entity.
“I wish to clarify that the presence in this meeting of any entity that Japan does not recognize as a state in no way affects Japan’s position regarding the status of this entity,” declared Mr. Iwaya before African ministers and representatives of international organizations gathered for the Conference.
This solemn statement is consistent with Japan’s previous stances, notably during the senior officials’ meeting and in public remarks made by the Japanese Foreign Minister.
Japan, committed to international legitimacy, thus sought to remove any ambiguity, stressing that the intrusion of the separatist entity into meetings under the cover of the African Union in no way confers upon it any form of state legitimacy.
This position is in line with that of the UN and the overwhelming majority of its member states, which refuse to recognize the separatist entity and largely support the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco in 2007.
It should be recalled that TICAD-9 is being held in Yokohama, Japan, from August 19 to 23, with the main objective of promoting development and cooperation in Africa, within a framework of peace and stability.
