Japan denies delisting PKK from list of banned organizations

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Japanese embassy in Turkey in a statement on Wednesday denied that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was removed from its list “of banned organizations.”

"There is no change in this policy of the government," the statement read.

The Japan Public Security and Intelligence Agency on Nov. 24 removed the PKK from the list of banned organizations on its official website. Moreover, it also removed the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas-related info, and a section related to Myanmar.

The Japanese authorities said the content was updated to align with the sanction list based on the UN Security Council Resolution 1267, the Japanese news website Jomo Shimbun reported.

"The website of the Japan Public Security and Intelligence Agency was updated the other day, and the page in question has now been deleted,” the Japanese Embassy said.

Moreover, it said that Japan has classified the PKK as a ‘terrorist’ organization since 2002, and its assets are frozen in the country.

In 2013, Japan welcomed a message released by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan calling for halting of violence, but at the same time it said that “Japan will continue to support the efforts of the Government of Turkey to eliminate acts of terrorism.”

The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey, and the EU, among other countries, most of which are neighboring allies of Turkey.  

Notably, Russia and Switzerland are two countries that have long refused to list the PKK as a terror group. Similarly, in 2020 a top Belgian court ruled that the PKK is not a terrorist organization. However, the ruling was not recognized by the Belgian government.