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Japan reiterates stance against SADR at TICAD-9
During the preparatory senior officials’ meeting for the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-9) held on Tuesday in Yokohama, Japan reaffirmed its firm stance on non-recognition of the separatist entity known as the SADR.
The head of the Japanese delegation stated at the opening of the meeting that Japan does not recognize this entity as a state, and its presence at TICAD does not alter the country’s long-standing position. “I wish to inform that the presence of an entity not recognized as a state by Japan does not affect our position regarding its status,” the Japanese official said.
The diplomat emphasized that Japan refused to extend an invitation to the separatist entity and only invited countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations. He noted that “it was the African Union Commission that invited all its members.”
This statement comes shortly after Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya reiterated Japan’s unchanged position on the SADR ahead of the TICAD opening. Responding to questions about the participation of the Polisario Front, a separatist militia whose so-called republic is not recognized by Japan or the majority of UN members, Iwaya stressed that Japan “does not recognize the so-called ‘SADR’.”
These clarifications during both the senior officials’ meeting and the minister’s statements confirm Japan’s strict alignment with international law and UN practice.