Japan Begins To Accept Palestinians Injured In Gaza For Treatment

Illustration of the evacuation of Gazan children. (Twitter/@hans_kluge)

JAKARTA - Defense Minister Gen Nakaati said Japan on Wednesday began accepting Palestinians injured in the Gaza Strip for medical treatment.

Japan will provide medical treatment to two women who have been hospitalized in Egypt, with the first arriving early that day at the Central Hospital of the Self-Defense Forces in Tokyo. The second woman will also arrive in the coming days, Defense Minister Nakatani told reporters.

The patient admission is regulated at the request of the World Health Organization and with the cooperation of the Egyptian government, and is not intended to relocate people to Japan, according to General Nakaati.

"Japan will play a proactive role, not only in urgent humanitarian aid efforts like this but also in supporting Gaza's medium and long-term reconstruction," Defense Minister Nakaati said, according to Kyodo News March 26.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Toshihiro Kitamura said in a regular press conference the two women were selected because their condition was "hopefully improving by undergoing treatment provided in Japan."

Separately, a Defense Ministry official said Japan currently had no plans to accept patients from Gaza en masse.

In February, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a parliamentary session his government was regulating to offer medical treatment in Japan for those who were "injured or injured in Gaza."

It is known that Japan, which relies heavily on the Middle East for oil imports, which are traditionally poor in natural resources, has pursued "equilibrium diplomacy" between Muslim and Israeli countries, backed by the United States, a close security ally of Tokyo.