KYODO NEWS - Dec 11, 2019 - 20:56 | All, World

Japan and Iran are making final arrangements for their leaders to hold talks on Dec. 20, a source close to bilateral relations said Wednesday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is planning to arrive in Japan in the evening of Dec. 19 for a three-day visit from Malaysia where he is expected to attend a conference, the source said.

If realized, it would be the first visit to Japan by an Iranian president since Mohammad Khatami in October 2000.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to make Tokyo's own diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East, confirming that Rouhani's visit was being arranged during a press conference in Tokyo on Monday.

Tehran is seen as seeking to break the impasse over a 2015 nuclear deal, as the reinstatement of U.S. sanctions following Washington's withdrawal from the accord has been hurting its economy.

As Iran has moved away from the landmark deal in recent months, Abe is likely to urge Rouhani to keep to its commitments. The deal was intended to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

For resource-poor Japan, it is vital to secure the safe navigation of ships in waters in the Middle East, including near the Strait of Hormuz.

Japan has been considering the dispatch of its defense forces to the region to enhance its information-gathering capabilities. But they are expected to stay away from the strait, located along the coast of Iran.

Japan has years of friendly ties with Iran. Abe visited Iran in June as the first Japanese leader to do so in about four decades. Iran used to be a major crude oil exporter to Japan before the United States threatened sanctions against nations buying it from the Middle East country.

In early December, Iran sounded out Japan about the possibility of Rouhani's visit when his special envoy Abbas Araghchi, the country's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, traveled to Tokyo and met with Abe.

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