Japan’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Japan had imposed a series of new sanctions on individuals and companies with any ties to the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip.
This is the first package of sanctions Japan has imposed on Hamas since its deadly terrorist attack on 7 October, which Israeli authorities believe killed more than 1,400 people. The list of individuals and entities designated by Japan as terrorist included the likes of Hamas militants Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd al-Dayyim Nasrallah and Ayman Nofal.
The sanctions will freeze the assets of individuals and companies that helped fund Hamas and are in line with new sanctions announced by the US government earlier this month.
Last week, Japan called on Israel to establish a ceasefire in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave. But on Friday, Tokyo abstained from voting on a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce.
Japanese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kamikawa Yoko said her country abstained from the vote partly because the resolution did not explicitly condemn Hamas, echoing the position of several countries including Australia and India.
The non-binding resolution, proposed by Jordan, was passed by an overwhelming majority of 120 votes.
