Japan freezes Hamas assets

The Japanese government decided yesterday to freeze the assets of the political wing of the Hamas movement.

A spokeswoman for the Japanese foreign ministry said that the government took its decision after the US, the European Union and Canada did so and according to international resolutions on fighting terrorism.

During a visit to Japan in August, the Israeli foreign minister Shalom Silvan asked Tokyo to freeze the assets of Hamas, stressing the need that Japan will play a pivotal role in the Middle East peace process.