Ishiba Raps Iran's Missile Attack on Israel

Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)--New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday strongly criticized Iran's ballistic missile attack on Israel, saying that it is "unacceptable."

"We will work closely (with related countries) to prevent the conflict from escalating into an all-out war, while making efforts to calm down the situation," Ishiba told reporters at the prime minister's office.

In their phone talks on Wednesday morning, Ishiba, who took office on Tuesday, and U.S. President Joe Biden shared serious concerns about the situation in the Middle East. Referring to the missile attack, they confirmed that their countries strongly condemn such an escalation.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference Wednesday that there have been no reports of Japanese nationals in Israel being injured in the attack.

"We will take all possible measures to protect Japanese nationals and make every diplomatic effort to prevent the situation from worsening," Hayashi, Japan's top government spokesman, added.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]