Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono had said at the opening of the 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VII), last August, that Japan does not recognize the fake SADR, stressing that "the presence in TICAD-VII of any entity that Japan does not recognize as a State does not in any way affect the position of the country regarding the status of this entity", alluding to the phoney SADR.

This position was repeated at the same summit by Director General for the Middle East and North Africa at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Katsuhiko Takahashi, who is also Assistant to the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs. "Japan does not recognize the Western Sahara as a state.

This is an unwavering and unchanging position. Japan does not intend to change it," he noted. Nakatani Shinichi reaffirmed his country's position in a press statement following a meeting with Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad Mohcine Jazouli.

The Japanese official stressed, during this bilateral meeting with Jazouli, that he took note of the Moroccan position on the Sahara issue and that the Japanese position remains unchanged on this subject.

For his part, Jazouli said, that during these talks, "Japan has reaffirmed its non-recognition of any separatist entity relating to the Moroccan aspect of the Sahara".