TOKYO: Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio and two of his senior Cabinet members – Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko and Chief Cabinet Secretary HAYASHI Yoshimasa – on Tuesday met with Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and his delegation in Tokyo.

In their meetings, the three senior figures in Japan’s government condemned the attacks by “Hamas terrorists” and called for the release of the Israeli hostages, while remaining silent on the question of a ceasefire.

Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the AJC delegation and expressed his condolences to those who lost their lives in last year’s terrorist attack by Hamas and other groups. He outlined Japan’s position and diplomatic efforts toward the release of the hostages.

Kishida also mentioned his official visit to the US scheduled for April this year and explained that the relationship between Japan and the Jewish community is an important part of the multi-layered people-to-people exchanges.

Deutsch stated that Japan would like to continue to work closely with the Japanese government, including cooperation toward the success of the Kishida’s visit to the US.

In her meeting with the Jewish delegation, Kamikawa recalled visiting Israel and other countries in the Middle East soon after her appointment as Foreign Minister, as well as meeting the families of hostages being held by Hamas when they visited Tokyo. She pledged to make strong diplomatic efforts in cooperation with the US to ensure their early release.

Hayashi touched on the importance of the Japan-US alliance in the international community and spoke about the significance of exchanges between citizens of the two countries.