Japan PM shows support for Pakistani efforts to mediate U.S., Iran conflict

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday she conveyed her support for Pakistan's mediation efforts in the U.S.-Iran conflict during phone talks with the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after recent peace negotiations between the warring parties in Islamabad yielded no agreement.

Takaichi and Sharif also affirmed that Japan and Pakistan will work toward an early deescalation of the Middle East situation and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy transportation, she told reporters in Tokyo.