Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi voiced “serious concern” about recent incidents in the Middle East and North Africa, stressing Japan’s interest in communicating with concerned countries in order to ensure peace and stability.

Replying to a question at a press conference Dec. 8 about his government’s stance on Iran, its nuclear program and local reports talking up the possibility of air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, Motegi said: “We are not sure if that is inevitable. There are different opinions about the situation, and we do not know how things got to where they are.

“In any case, 90 percent of Japanese oil imports come from the Middle East, so stability and peace there are very important for us,” he added, stating that Japan’s initiative to reduce tension in the region remained on the table.

“In October I had telephone conversations with my counterparts in Israel, Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. I visited the Middle East in October, specifically Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and I am working to ensure better communication on many issues, and this is what we are trying to build on for stability,” he said.

Motegi stressed Japan’s endeavors to ease tensions in the region through initiatives on several levels to encourage dialogue between the countries concerned.  

“Tensions are exacerbated there in several places, including Iran, and also in some Arab Maghreb countries where certain incidents also took place,” he explained. “We look at the situation of each country with great interest and want to communicate and discuss the tense situation so that the problems can be solved peacefully. These are our expectations and Japan will take initiatives towards the countries concerned.”

The Moroccan Armed Forces announced last month that it had intervened to open the borders in order to put an end to the “provocations” of the separatist Polisario militia that obstructed traffic along the Moroccan and Mauritanian borders. The Japanese ambassador to Morocco expressed his government’s support for the Moroccan government’s operations.