Japan's Foreign Ministry to Set Up Peace Mediation Office

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Foreign Ministry will set up by the end of March next year a new office tasked with mediating peace between third countries, it was learned Tuesday.

The move comes in line with a coalition agreement between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai.

The new office is likely to be established under the ministry's Foreign Policy Bureau and is expected to help Japan provide seamless assistance spanning from mediation to post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara pointed to the growing importance of supporting efforts to resolve conflicts promptly through peace mediation, while mentioning the conflict in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

"It's beneficial to create an office that will serve as a cross-departmental coordinator utilizing insights from (the ministry's) respective regional affairs bureaus, which have connections with stakeholders in conflicts," Kihara said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]