Japanese PM to visit Iran next week: officials

Shinzo Abe plans to travel to Iran next week, officials said Thursday, the first visit by a Japanese prime minister in more than four decades as Tokyo hopes to mediate between Washington and Tehran.

A government official told AFP that Tokyo was "still arranging details, including whom our prime minister will meet there" but local media have said Abe will hold talks with Iran's Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

During his state visit to Tokyo in late May, US President Donald Trump said he remained open to talks with Tehran, appearing to give the green light to Abe's plan, Mehr news agency reported.

Japanese media has said the visit would take place next week, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to specify a date.

“We will make efforts to make it meaningful,” Suga told a regular news conference about the trip, Reuters reported.

Japan and Iran have maintained a good relationship as Japan relies heavily on imports of oil from the Middle East, though crude from Iran accounted for just 5.3 percent of the country's total imports last year.

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