International support for Morocco’s autonomy plan continues to grow. This time, Tokyo is making a significant diplomatic shift by stating that “genuine autonomy, under Moroccan sovereignty, could constitute one of the most realistic solutions” to the Western Sahara dispute.
Japan welcomed on Friday the adoption, on October 31, 2025, of UN Security Council Resolution 2797, which affirms that “genuine autonomy, under Moroccan sovereignty, could be one of the most feasible solutions” to the Western Sahara issue.
Tokyo further emphasised its intention to act in accordance with this position on both the diplomatic and economic fronts, according to the joint communiqué signed by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Japanese counterpart, Motegi Toshimitsu, during a videoconference held on Friday, May 8, to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Japan also “expressed its support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to facilitate and conduct negotiations, based on the Moroccan autonomy plan, in order to reach a
just, lasting, and mutually acceptable settlement of the dispute,” the document states.
Tokyo called on “the parties to participate in discussions without preconditions and on the basis of the Moroccan autonomy plan, in order to reach a definitive and mutually acceptable political solution.”
The joint communiqué further emphasises that “genuine autonomy could represent one of the most realistic solutions.”
To translate this new direction into concrete action, Mr. Toshimitsu indicated that “Japan is ready to act, including at the diplomatic and economic levels, taking into account its position and the current
developments.”
Japan’s affirmation of the centrality of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty constitutes a further endorsement of the kingdom’s efforts to resolve the dispute over its southern provinces.
By adopting this position, Tokyo joins several international powers and a large majority of the international community, who consider the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the most credible basis for achieving a lasting solution to this regional dispute, and who intend to act accordingly on the diplomatic, political and economic levels.
AK/te/Sf/fss/as/APA