Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held meetings with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi on in the capital Tokyo on Monday.

The Iranian top diplomat also met with Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Amir-Abdollahian arrived on Sunday night in Tokyo, where he was welcomed by Japanese officials.

Amir-Abdollahian and a group of survivors of chemical weapons, used during the 1980s Iraqi-imposed war, have visited Japan as the East Asian country remembers the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, the Iranian foreign minister said that Iran has always had a positive view of the Japanese people, civilization, and history.

“Given the ongoing positive developments in West Asia, we believe that Japan can play a constructive role in the region,” he added.

Iranian foreign minister is also expected to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Amir-Abdollahian’s trip to Japan is the first by an Iranian foreign minister since December 2019 and the first under President Ebrahim Raeisi.

It takes place on the 78th anniversary of the US nuclear attacks on two Japanese cities days before the end of World War II.

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year. Three days later, it dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000.

By Mehr