Ankara
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday that Japan will promote ties with Central Asian countries.
It happened after the earthquake that shocked Japan.
Foreign Minister Kishida explained his decision to cancel the visit to Central Asia in a telephone conversation with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
According to the statement, the foreign minister told Mirziyoyev, “Japan's determination to continue to vigorously promote relations between Japan and Central Asia, as well as bilateral relations between Japan and Uzbekistan, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 'Central Asia plus Japan' Dialogue remains unchanged.”
Foreign Minister Kishida explained that he decided to postpone the visit to deal with crisis management and disaster response following the earthquake that struck off the coast of Miyazaki prefecture on Thursday and the issuance of a major earthquake warning by the Japan Meteorological Agency on the same day.
He said he regretted missing the visit and would make appropriate arrangements for future visits, taking into account various circumstances.
Mirziyoyev said he understood Foreign Minister Kishida's decision and would like to continue to cooperate with Japan to strengthen bilateral relations.
A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning.
Several injuries and damage to buildings were reported in Miyazaki Prefecture and two neighboring prefectures.
Foreign Minister Kishida was due to fly to Astana to co-chair the first summit with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
He was then scheduled to fly to Mongolia to meet with President Ukhna Khurelsukh and Prime Minister Luvsannamsurai Oyun-Erdene.
Those programs have been postponed.
*Author: Islamuddin Sajid
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