Japan is to provide 7.7 million dollars in food aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to an agreement signed Wednesday in Amman.

The accord was signed by the Japanese ambassador to Jordan, Junichi Kosuge, and UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi.

Open gallery view Palestinian refugees in Amman gesture during an anti-Israel demonstration, May 13, 2011. Credit: Reuters

Kosuge said the donation would be utilized for the purchase of urgently-needed staple foods.

He said more than 4 million Palestinian refugees were facing "difficult circumstances because of the blockade imposed on them and the stagnant peace process."

Grandi praised Japan's continuous donations to UNRWA, saying Tokyo was an "ideal donor" for the agency.