Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to have talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month in New York following the reinstatement of sanctions against the Iran by the United States, a Japanese government source told Kyodo news agency on Sunday.
According to the Japanese leading news agency, the northeastern Asian country hopes to maintain ties with Iran, on which it depends for crude oil imports.
Japan has been asking for a waiver during negotiations with US but has faced difficulties in securing an exemption.
Iran is the sixth-largest exporter of crude oil to Japan, at around 5 percent of Japan's imports.
Abe and Rouhani are also likely to discuss Japan's economic cooperation with Iran, it said.
Separately, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is mulling visiting Iran around mid-October if he retains the ministerial post in a Cabinet reshuffle Abe would hold in early October, the source said.
KI/PR