Japan denounces Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, urges deescalation

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi declared on Sunday that Japan unequivocally condemns the recent attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia, urging an immediate cessation of the escalating conflict. Acknowledging the Middle East's pivotal role in maintaining global peace and Japan's energy security, Tokyo is committed to exerting every diplomatic avenue towards deescalating and stabilizing the tense situation expeditiously with nations such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Motegi's statement emphasized that any assault on civilians or civilian infrastructure is wholly intolerable, and Japan reiterates its vehement condemnation of the Houthi's recent barrage of attacks.

Saudi Arabia has endured a series of Houthi-backed assaults in recent days. A missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday claimed over ten lives and left three hundred people wounded. The same airport bore the brunt of a repeat Houthi assault on Sunday, according to Saudi officials. The United States' President Donald Trump has floated the possibility of the U.S. joining forces with Saudi Arabia in targeting the Houthis, as the protracted Iran war continues to unfold.

This ongoing conflict has engendered apprehensions about potential disruptions in the supply of Middle Eastern crude oil, a resource-strapped Japan's critical dependency on which could exacerbate surging energy prices.