Japan welcomes U.S.-Iran cease-fire as positive move

TOKYO — Japan welcomes the announcement of a cease-fire agreement between the United States and Iran as a "positive move," the top government spokesman said Wednesday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference that an actual deescalation in the Middle East is of top importance and that Tokyo expects a "final agreement" through diplomatic efforts to be reached soon to that end.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been seeking summit talks over the phone with the Iranian side, Kihara added.

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week cease-fire, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, acting as a mediator, said earlier on Wednesday, just before the expiry of U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the United States and Israel launched their attacks on Iran in late February, the country has effectively blocked the strait, a chokepoint for global energy transportation, triggering oil supply disruptions and price surges.

Japan relies on the Middle East for more than 90 percent of its crude oil imports, most of which transit the strait. The close U.S. security ally has traditionally maintained friendly relations with Iran.

Takaichi's government has condemned Tehran for its de facto blockade of the strait, as well as its attacks on other Middle Eastern states, but has made no legal assessment of the U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran.

© KYODO