Japan to provide $6m in aid for Syrian refugees

Japan will extend USD 6 million in emergency grant aid for Syrian refugees and internally displaced people affected by by cold wave, the Foreign Ministry announced.
"The aid will be used for winterization non-food items and foods for socially vulnerable people including Syrian refugees, because the severe cold wave in January resulted in the shortage of such items in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey," the ministry said in a press release, adding that it will be provided through international organizations such as the World Food Programme (WFP).
The aid is implemented to realize further expansion of humanitarian assistance in the Middle East which was announced recently by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It is also a part of "enhancement of diplomacy towards stability and prosperity in the Middle East," which is a key pillar of Japan's new foreign policy announced earlier this month in response to the apparent murders of two Japanese by Islamic State militants, it added.