Japan welcomes Syria-related accord between U.S., Russia

The Japanese government on Sunday welcomed an agreement between the United States and Russia over the issue of Syrian chemical weapons, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry.

Fumio Kishida, Japan's foreign minister, said in a statement that Japan hailed the agreement to secure and eliminate Syria's chemical weapons under international supervision and called for " sincere response" by the Syrian government, adding Japan "will watch its real action."

Kishida said Japan will continue to support and make necessary contributions to efforts by relevant countries and organizations so that chemical weapons are never used again.

Japan will keep on contributing to the international efforts towards the cessation of violence, initiation of political dialogue and improvement of humanitarian conditions, according to the statement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov announced on Sept. 14 that they agreed on a framework toward the complete destruction of chemical weapons in Syria.

The accord asks the Syrian government to submit within one week a listing of its chemical weapons stockpiles and to allow access to international inspectors.