Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi condemned Iran’s recent attacks on Middle Eastern neighbors—which have caused civilian deaths—during a Thursday phone call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Takaichi outlined Japan’s position on Iran, a nation with which it has long enjoyed friendly relations, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The leaders agreed to collaborate on de-escalating the broader Middle East conflict. Since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began last Saturday, Tehran has launched missile and drone assaults on nearby countries, hitting civilian targets like airports, hotels, and homes, per local reports.
Japan, heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil due to its lack of domestic resources, has a strong stake in regional stability.
Takaichi and Merz also pledged to deepen economic security ties and voiced shared worries about China’s tightened export controls on dual-use items—potentially including rare earth minerals—affecting global supply chains. This marked their second recent call; they spoke last week ahead of Merz’s summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump