TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday instructed government officials to be fully prepared for every possible contingency amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Abe called on officials to make all-out diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region in close cooperation with related countries.

He also urged officials to provide the public with necessary information swiftly and correctly and to protect Japanese nationals overseas.

The prime minister issued the instruction following Iran's attacks on US military bases in Iraq.

"We're extremely concerned" about the regional situation, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference after a ministerial meeting of the National Security Council.

He said, "We'll call on all parties concerned to make all possible diplomatic efforts to ease tensions."

Suga said there is no change in Japan's plan to send Maritime Self-Defense Force troops to the Middle East.

"We'll proceed with preparations for the mission while keeping a close eye on the regional situation," he said.

Meanwhile, parliamentary affairs chiefs from major opposition parties agreed to call on the government to cancel the MSDF mission.

JIJI Press