Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Fifteen Senior deputy minister-level officials of Afghanistan’s Taliban interim government will visit Japan on Sunday, February 16, for about a week, invited by a private Japanese group and a UN-related organization, Japanese media and Afghani sources reported.

It is to be the first visit of high-ranking officials from the Afghani interim government to Japan since the Taliban seized power in that country in August 2021.

Japan maintained communication with the Taliban but has not recognized the Taliban interim government, citing its policies such as oppressing women.

The Tokyo-based private Sasakawa Peace Foundation and former United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) representative Tadamichi Yamamoto and others called for a visit to Japan by the Taliban government when they visited Afghanistan in July last year, Kyodo News reported.

They seek to build relationships with the world to become “a strong, united, and prosperous member of the international community.”

Details of the schedule and whether there will be discussions with the Japanese government are unavailable.

In response to the invitation, the Taliban selected about six people in charge of foreign affairs, health care, education, cultural assets, among others.