Prime Minister Naoto Kan held a Ministerial Meeting on the Situation in the Middle East at the Prime Minister's Office.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said, "I am giving three instructions to everyone: (i) carry out thorough information gathering, (ii) protect Japanese nationals, and (iii) address the impacts on the Japanese economy of surges in the price of natural and other resources, including energy. The background of this is the collapse of regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, incidents which are having repercussions on many other countries. I have said before that it is desirable that there be peaceful and democratic development. It is extremely concerning that a considerable number of people have lost their lives in Libya. In cases such as these, I believe we must request each government to act with restraint."