Mansour Bagash thanks Japan for humanitarian support in meeting with Japanese ambassador
Yemen Herald News 
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Yemen’s deputy foreign minister thanked Japan on Thursday for its humanitarian support and discussed the Houthi military escalation with Tokyo’s ambassador.
Mansour Bagash met Japanese Ambassador to Yemen Yoichi Nakashima, the state news agency Saba reported.
Bagash is under-secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for political affairs.
“We’re grateful to our Japanese friends for their support,” he said, according to the agency.
Bagash said Japan’s contribution to humanitarian and relief work in Yemen was helpful and valued.
The account of the meeting rests on Saba. No independent account has been published, and Yemen Herald could not confirm it elsewhere.
Saba rendered the ambassador’s name as Nakashima Yochi. Japan’s embassy and its own statements give Yoichi Nakashima.
The two men discussed bilateral cooperation and Japan’s role in development and humanitarian work, Saba said.
They also discussed what the agency described as the military escalation by Houthi forces.
Nakashima restated Japan’s support for Yemen and for government efforts to restore security and stability, according to the agency.
He stressed the need to protect the safety of international shipping, Saba said.
Nakashima set out Japan’s position on Red Sea security in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat in August.
He said attacks on commercial vessels and a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia were unacceptable.
Japan stood with Saudi Arabia against threats to Red Sea security and freedom of navigation, he said.
He said Japan was considering joining a Saudi-led Red Sea security initiative.
Japan’s foreign minister had urged his Iranian counterpart to exercise maximum restraint, Nakashima said in that interview.
He said Tokyo asked Iran to pass a clear message to the Houthis to avoid further escalation.
In the same interview Nakashima put Japanese support for displaced people and host communities in Marib at 5.2 million dollars.
He said Japan had given 4.7 million dollars to Yemen’s customs sector.
Japan and Yemen signed an exchange of notes in Riyadh on 13 July 2025 for about 2.5 million dollars.
The money was for vocational training for young Yemenis, including displaced people, Arab News reported.
The project covers Aden, Lahj and Taiz governorates.
It funds the repair of technical and vocational training centres and training in capacity development.
Nakashima said at the signing that the decision was taken to support Yemenis going through what he called an exceptional time.
Ashraf El Nour, head of the International Organization for Migration office in Riyadh, signed for the agency.
Bagash attended that signing, Arab News reported.
About 4.7 million displaced Yemenis, roughly a seventh of the population, cannot earn an income because they lack technical skills, the report said.
Nakashima last met Bagash in Riyadh on 30 September 2025, according to the Japanese embassy.
That meeting covered bilateral relations, Japanese humanitarian and development projects and the Yemen Coast Guard.
Japan announced emergency food assistance for Yemen on 10 May 2022 in support of a truce, its foreign ministry says.
Hayashi Katsuyoshi, a special assistant to Japan’s foreign minister and a former ambassador to Yemen, held consultations in Oman and Saudi Arabia from 1 to 4 August 2022.
He met Yemeni and Houthi representatives and officials of both host governments, the ministry says.
Japan’s embassy to Yemen operates from Riyadh.
Thursday’s meeting came during an exchange of attacks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet said on Tuesday that the Houthis would face consequences for repeated attacks on the kingdom.
The statement followed a meeting chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Airports at Riyadh, Abha and Dammam have been hit in a series of attacks, Al Arabiya reported.
A projectile struck Riyadh airport on Sunday, killing one person and wounding 11, Saudi authorities said.
A missile struck an Aramco administrative building in Dhahran on Tuesday night.
The Saudi energy ministry confirmed a fire and said nobody was killed or hurt.
Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said his forces had attacked Aramco sites and an airport serving Riyadh.
Saree told employees at Saudi oil sites and people living near them to move away.
He said a Saudi strike on Sanaa would bring what he called a harsh and painful response.
Debris from two intercepted missiles injured four people in Riyadh and damaged 15 homes, the Saudi civil defence authority said.
The Saudi-led coalition struck energy sites in Houthi-held parts of Yemen late on Tuesday, including a station in Sanaa.
The coalition told civilians near the Sanaa site to leave before it attacked.
The Yemeni Oil Company said the storage tanks there were empty and that supplies would not be affected.
Air France-KLM, Air India, Etihad, Lufthansa, Delta, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways have suspended flights to Saudi Arabia and neighbouring states.
The United Nations says at least 46 civilians have been killed in Yemen since August and more than 130 injured.
It says more than 200,000 people have been displaced since September.
The UN humanitarian plan published in March said more than 22 million Yemenis needed aid.
It put the number facing acute food insecurity at 18.3 million.
It recorded more than 2.2 million children under five as acutely malnourished, 516,157 of them severely.
The plan sought 2.16 billion dollars to reach 12 million people.
Saba did not say how long Thursday’s meeting lasted.
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