Japan: Diplomacy will resolve Iranian crisis

The Japanese government is investing considerable effort in resolving the crisis surrounding Iran's advancing nuclear program, Japan's Deputy Ambassador to Israel Kuninori Matsuda said Monday.

Matsuda praised Israel's diplomatic work towards that end and said it kept the matter on the international public agenda while promoting a diplomatic solution to the problem.

"Despite political and economic tires to Iran, Japan is working tirelessly towards finding a diplomatic solution," said Matsuda at a press conference in Tel Aviv.

"We were one of the first nations to implement the sanctions decided upon by the UN Security Council and we believe that further action must be taken to pass a motion in the council to tighten those sanctions," he said.

Matsuda noted that Japan was one of the only nations to maintain ties with Iran after the Islamic revolution and that trade relations with Iran are only second to trade with China. Iran is the third-largest supplier of oil to Japan, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"But despite all this, we are implementing the sanctions in full – and to the best of my knowledge, Japanese business companies are already implementing the unilateral sanctions written up by Washington, even though they are not obligated by law to do so," the deputy ambassador said.

"We believe that in order to achieve a solution to a global problem, you need solidarity from the

international community. The solution to the crisis will be forged by combining sanctions with diplomacy. Based on our experience with North Korea, this is the winning combination – I believe that what was achieved with Pyongyang can be eventually achieved with the Iranians."

Matsuda said that the upcoming Japanese-hosted G8 conference will focus on nuclear disarmament.