13:36, 4 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. The government of Japan will provide assistance to the forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, Masaki Ikegami, Deputy Director-General / Deputy Assistant Minister of the European Affairs Bureau at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

The Japanese foreign ministry official announced the aid at a meeting with Sedrak Tevonyan, the Governor of Ararat Province of Armenia.

“We are now in the process of coordinating, but on October 5 the government of Japan will announce the official assistance program for the forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, which will be continuous in case of necessity. I will return to Tokyo tonight and I will immediately report on the situation,” Deputy Assistant Minister Masaki Ikegami said at the meeting.

He said that Japan was also shocked by what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh two weeks ago.

“In this regard the Japanese Foreign Minister responded immediately and emphasized in her statement that Azerbaijan must stop its aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. She called on both sides to resolve all issues peacefully. Now, when the hostilities have stopped, we need to focus on and help the people who’ve survived the situation in the region,” Ikegami said.

The Japanese official said that Tokyo views the situation as a global issue, not just pertaining to the Caucasus region. Ikegami emphasized that Armenia and Japan have common values, where the most important ones are human rights and international values, and they seek to work together in the direction of preserving them.

Masaki Ikegami inquired about the needs of the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh in order for the aid to be targeted, and Governor Tevonyan briefed on the situation.  He said that 15,569 of the 100,625 forcibly displaced persons who’ve arrived to Armenia have been accommodated in Ararat Province.