People gather and demonstrate on the street to express their solidarity with Palestinian people as part of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people in Tokyo, Japan, on November 29, 2023.A major firm in Japan is cutting ties with the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, citing the International Court of Justice’s initial ruling last month that Israel’s mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza may amount to a genocide.
Activists behind the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement celebrated Itochu’s decision, calling it a victory for advocates who have been pushing for companies to cut ties with Elbit and other collaborators in Israel’s genocide. “The Palestinian BDS National Committee , the largest Palestinian coalition leading the global BDS movement, warmly welcomes this decision which follows a campaign by a coalition of solidarity groups including BDS Japan Bulletin,” the groupin a statement.
“In harmony with the Japanese government’s respect for the orders of the World Court, Itochu complies with its obligation to avoid any complicity with genocide,” the statement said. The Itochu news is one of several wins logged by the BDS movement recently. Companies facing BDS-related boycotts like McDonald’s and Starbucksthat their profits have been falling short of expectations due to the boycotts. After McDonald’s reported on Monday that the company doesn’t expect to see improvements in certain markets until there’s a “resolution in the Middle East,” shares fell 4.