Japan’s Sanae Takaichi seeking talks with Iran’s President, Trump

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TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on April 7 she was continuing to seek talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and a call with US President Donald Trump.

“We must communicate with both the US side as well as the Iran side. We are seeking to hold talks over the phone with both presidents,” Ms Takaichi said in Parliament.

She declined to comment on the specifics of a phone call held between Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on April 6, but said that Mr Motegi had reiterated the need to secure the safety of vessels still in the Strait of Hormuz.

The comments come amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict in Iran, with the US President ramping up his threats to bomb key infrastructure in Iran as soon as April 7 unless the strait is reopened. 

As Mr Trump’s deadline draws closer, Japan has communicated with the governments involved as it seeks a diplomatic off-ramp to the situation.

Mr Motegi also spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on the evening of April 6, according to statements released by the Foreign Ministry. 

In the phone call with Mr Araghchi, Mr Motegi also urged Iran to engage with efforts for mediation by other countries and expressed concern over the protracted exchange of attacks, the statement read. 

In what appeared to be a sign of some diplomatic efforts paying off, a Japanese national detained by Iranian authorities was released on bail, according to a report by Kyodo news that cited an unnamed Japanese government official speaking on April 7.

The national is unable to leave the country, but is safe in Tehran, Kyodo said. 

Ms Takaichi confirmed in a parliamentary session on April 6 that the government was preparing for leadership talks with Iran, without specifying who she was referring to.

An NHK report earlier on April 7 said that preparations were under way for a call between Ms Takaichi and Mr Pezeshkian.

Japan is striving to balance its long-standing friendliness with and energy dependence on Middle Eastern countries on the one hand, alongside its commitment to its most important security ally, the United States. 

Despite Ms Takaichi’s efforts to explain Japan’s position on sending ships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, Mr Trump still appears incensed that his calls for allies to send ships weren’t met with enthusiasm. 

“Just to conclude and just to finish, Japan didn’t help us, Australia didn’t help us, South Korea didn’t help us. And then you get to NATO, NATO didn’t help us,” Mr Trump said at a press conference on April 6. BLOOMBERG