TOKYO: Japan welcomes the UN Security Council’s adoption Wednesday of a resolution calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the war-torn Gaza Strip, Chief Cabinet Secretary MATSUNO Hirokazu said Thursday.

“We call on all parties to act in good faith based on the resolution,” Matsuno, Japan’s top government spokesman, told a press conference.

He also emphasized that Japan made “various diplomatic efforts,” including coordination with other Security Council members, toward the vote on the resolution.

Of the 15 council members, 12 countries, including Japan, France and China, voted for the resolution, while the United States, Britain and Russia abstained. It was the first time for the powerful UN body to adopt a resolution related to the ongoing military conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which started in early October.

JIJI Press