Japan to work closely with U.S. on Syria issue, eyes humanitarian support

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday called for his ministers to collect further information and work closely with the United States and other countries as the situation in Syria escalates.

Officials here said Abe met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and other officials Friday to discuss the conflict in Syria and potential ways Japan would collaborate with other countries over the allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria.

They said Abe also instructed his Cabinet to collect further information on the Syria conflict and try to determine whether or not chemical weapons were responsible for the deaths of civilians in the region.

Abe said he is extremely concerned about the Syrian situation amid growing suspicion that many civilians have been killed by chemical weapons, saying he strongly hopes that the truth will be revealed through an investigation at an early time, the officials said.

Talks between Kishida and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are scheduled to be held soon as the U.S. looks to establish further cooperation from the international community, ahead of a potential strike on the Syrian government, added the officials.

According to Suga, the Japanese government believes that it is "highly likely" that chemical weapons were used by the Syrian government and that the government was responsible for what Suga described as a "worsening humanitarian situation" in Syria.

Suga said that Britain's parliamentary vote against a military strike on Syria would not affect Japan's response to the crisis and said that Japan stood ready to provided humanitarian aid to Syria.

"It's natural for us to give humanitarian support to children, those who are displaced, and are at a disadvantage," the top government spokesperson told local media following Friday's Cabinet meeting.

Japan is concerned that if the situation in Syria intensifies further the Middle East region could become increasingly volatile and such instability could affect oil exports from the area.

Such a scenario would adversely affect Japan and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who doubles as the nation's deputy prime minister, pointed to the fact that Japan's trade with other nations could also be negatively impacted.

Resource-poor Japan relies on Middle Eastern nations for a significant amount of its crude oil imports, with more than 90 percent of all its energy resources coming from overseas.

Abe, for his part, called the allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria "intolerable" and reiterated Japan's commitment to " cooperate with the international community to help stop all violence in Syria immediately."

"The government of Syrian President Bashar Assad should resign as the Assad regime is entirely responsible for the current situation Syria." Abe was quoted by government officials here as saying at a meeting with Qatar's Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in Qatar on Wednesday.

"It has killed innocent civilians and failed to address the deteriorating human rights situation there," Abe said.

Syria, however, has denied the allegations and the United Nations and a number of countries including U.N. Security Council members have called for restrain to be used -- urging diplomacy rather than military action as a solution to the crisis.

Abe himself has also called for the start of a political dialogue in Syria and support for Syrian refugees, officials here added Friday.