--- title: Shinzo Abe: Japan Will Not Join War Against ISIS description: Japan will not participate in any military action against the militant Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, its prime minister says canonical: https://time.com/4195411/japan-isis-conflict-shinzo-abe/ author: Mark Rivett-Carnac article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-27T09:32:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:28:21.596Z article:section: World og:title: Shinzo Abe Says Japan Will Not Join the War Against ISIS og:description: Japan's prime minister says support will be limited to humanitarian assistance. og:url: https://time.com/4195411/japan-isis-conflict-shinzo-abe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4e4a4da8d485ece/69887ab1e20a87c0a1a8f3a0/gettyimages-498244422.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Visits Malaysia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Shinzo Abe Says Japan Will Not Join the War Against ISIS twitter:description: Japan's prime minister says support will be limited to humanitarian assistance. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4e4a4da8d485ece/69887ab1e20a87c0a1a8f3a0/gettyimages-498244422.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Japan Will Not Join War Against ISIS for 'Foreseeable Future' by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Jan 27, 2016 9:32 AM CUT  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to media during a news conference on Nov. 22, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to media during a news conference on Nov. 22, 2015, in Kuala LumpurMohd Samsul Mohd Said—Getty Images by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Jan 27, 2016 9:32 AM CUT Japan [will not join](http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160127/p2a/00m/0na/004000c "undefined") in any military action against the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday. Any support will be limited to humanitarian assistance. “This decision will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future,” Abe said according to Japan’s _Mainichi_ newspaper. Japan was embroiled in the fight against the terrorist group early last year when ISIS militants murdered two Japanese hostages. At the time, Tokyo was strictly pacifist and could not send a rescue mission or troops, but Abe [promised](http://time.com/3700633/japan-self-defense-force-histages-pacifism/ "undefined") to hold the hostage takers “responsible for their deplorable acts.” Since then, legislation has been [passed](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/world/asia/japan-parliament-passes-legislation-combat-role-for-military.html "undefined") in Japan’s parliament that permits its military to engage in overseas combat to defend allies, despite strong public opposition. \[[_Mainichi_](http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160127/p2a/00m/0na/004000c "undefined")_\]_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4195411/japan-isis-conflict-shinzo-abe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4195411/japan-isis-conflict-shinzo-abe/"},"headline":"Japan Will Not Join War Against ISIS for 'Foreseeable Future'","datePublished":"2016-01-27T09:32:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:28:21.596Z","description":"Any support will be limited to humanitarian assistance, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says","url":"https://time.com/4195411/japan-isis-conflict-shinzo-abe/","keywords":["Military","Shinzo Abe","Japan","ISIS","conflict","Islamic State"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4e4a4da8d485ece/69887ab1e20a87c0a1a8f3a0/gettyimages-498244422.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4e4a4da8d485ece/69887ab1e20a87c0a1a8f3a0/gettyimages-498244422.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Visits Malaysia","caption":"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Visits Malaysia","creditText":"Mohd Samsul Mohd Said—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4195411/japan-isis-conflict-shinzo-abe/","name":"Japan Will Not Join War Against ISIS for 'Foreseeable Future'"}}]}] ```