Japan-Iran Relations
Japan-Iran Foreign Ministers' Meeting
April 28, 2015
On Monday, April 27, commencing at around 3:35 p.m. (local time) for approximately 40 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a foreign ministers’ meeting in New York with Dr. Javad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
- At the outset of the meeting, Minister Zarif stated he was happy to be able to meet Minister Kishida shortly after the Japan-Iran Summit Meeting in Indonesia and that he wished to discuss cooperation between the two countries.
Minister Kishida, after commenting that he had heard that the discussions in the Japan-Iran Summit Meeting in Indonesia had been fruitful, said that this year, which is the 70th year since the atomic bombings, Japan submitted a joint working paper to the 2015 Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)requesting that specific actions be taken by both nuclear-weapon States and non-nuclear-weapon States, and that he expressed his hope for Iran, which is the chair country of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), to provide constructive cooperation toward the 2015 NPT Review Conference.
In response, Minister Zarif said that nuclear disarmament is a priority issue for both Japan and Iran, and that he intended to cooperate toward the success of the NPT Review Conference. - Minister Kishida requested that Iran show flexibility with regard to its nuclear issue and reach a final agreement. He also requested Iran’s proactive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and early ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
In response, Minister Zarif stated that Iran also hoped to achieve a final agreement but that in order to do so, it would be necessary that implementation of measures by not only Iran, but also its partners in the negotiations should be credible. - Minister Kishida stated he hoped that Iran would play a constructive role toward the stabilization of the situation in Yemen and the resumption of the United Nations-led political transition process. He also stated that Japan intends to continue to consult with Iran on the situation in the Middle East.
In response, Minister Zarif stated Iran welcomes the consultation with Japan on the situation in the Middle East and that Iran, as a major country in the region, intends to play a role in stabilizing the Middle East, including Yemen. - Minister Kishida requested severing all military cooperation with North Korea as well as Iran’s cooperation and understanding on the abduction issue. In response, Minister Zarif stated that Iran would not act now or in the future in a manner that would impair the interests of Japan.