Japan Times:

As leader of a country that is a close ally of the United States and also has a long friendship with Iran, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to have his skills tested as a mediator between Washington and Tehran amid rising tensions between them.

“Japan is concerned about surging tensions surrounding the Middle East,” Abe told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on May 16, calling on Iran to refrain from provoking the United States and defuse tensions.

Zarif visited Japan in a hurry, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s four-day trip to the country from Saturday.

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