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Gaza sick, wounded could get medical care in Japan: PM Ishiba
A Palestinian girl wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip is carried by medics before crossing the Rafah border into Egypt on Saturday, Feb 1, 2025. (File photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
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TOKYO: The Japanese government is considering offering medical care in the world's fourth-largest economy for sick and wounded residents of Gaza, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said.
Ishiba told a parliament session on Monday (Feb 3) that his administration is working on a policy to provide support in Japan for "those who are ill or injured in Gaza".
He said that educational opportunities could also be offered to people from Gaza, which is under a fragile ceasefire with Israel.
Ishiba was responding to a lawmaker who had asked whether a 2017 scheme to accept Syrian refugees as students could be used as a reference point to help Gaza residents.
"We are thinking about launching a similar programme for Gaza, and the government will make efforts towards the realisation of this plan," Ishiba said.
The measures discussed in parliament are different to Japan's main asylum policy, which has long been criticised for the low number of claims granted by the nation.
