Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa Thanks S. Korea for Evacuation of 51 Japanese; Cooperation on Evacuation of Japanese, S. Korean Citizens Agreed (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:17 JST, October 15, 2023 (updated at 15:00 JST)

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa spoke with South Korean counterpart Park Jin by phone Sunday. She expressed her appreciation to the South Korea government for evacuating Japanese nationals from Israel on a South Korean military plane. Fifty-one Japanese were evacuated from Israel on Saturday aboard the transport plane.

After the talk, Kamikawa told reporters that the situation regarding Israel and Palestine is “unpredictable.” During the talk, the two foreign ministers agreed to continue to cooperate on the evacuation of both Japanese and South Korean citizens from Israel. They also agreed to help and cooperate with each other toward an early resolution of the situation.

She also announced that the Japanese government will send special envoy Tsukasa Uemura to the region. Uemura had served as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and director general of the ministry’s Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau.

Kamikawa said that the government “would like to make every effort, in cooperation with the international community, to encourage the parties concerned to calm the situation as soon as possible.”