Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono lays a wreath at the Hall of Remembrance, during his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem on December 25, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA)
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Monday laid a wreath at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and called for stronger ties between the two countries.
He wrote in the memorial’s guest book that he prayed “from the bottom of my heart that such a tragedy will never be repeated.”
A picture taken on December 25, 2017, shows the dedication written by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in the guestbook during his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem, (AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA)
At a joint press conference with President Reuven Rivlin, he said Japan “regards Israel as a country full of talent, not just a state of technology, but humanity, art and science.”
“I hope to increase the exchange of people between (the) two countries,” he added.
Rivlin said he was “very concerned” about North Korea and that “a crisis on one side of the globe can influence the other side of the globe.”
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
In a statement, Rivlin’s spokesman said Kono voiced hope that Israel and Japan would establish direct air links “sometime soon.”
Kono was set to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas later Monday.
Advertisement
Your next read: ToI Editors' Picks
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Join The Times of Israel Community today, and you'll receive a physical book of your choice, carefully curated by our editors.
Choose between two must-reads: When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a searing portrait of a mother’s grief and strength following unthinkable tragedy;
Or Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe by Matti Friedman, the gripping and surprising tale of a forgotten moment during World War II.
As a Community member, you’ll enjoy our outstanding DocuNation series of Israeli documentary films, an ad-free experience of our site and podcasts, commenting privileges, and more.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
