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The Sasakawa Peace Foundation invited Dr. Raza Nazarhari, the Ambassador to Japan of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to speak at the seminar detailed below, on August 29th, 2013.

Iran – Japan relations have recently been in a state of flux due to external pressures. These pressures have brought about changes in what have been the consistently close relations between the two countries. Against this background, Japan's oil imports from Iran have fallen by nearly a third over the past three years, and at the same time, Japan's exports to Iran have also declined sharply during this period. These outside pressures are continuing to work to reduce bilateral relations even further.
Furthermore, the recent presidential elections in Iran and the victory of Dr. Hassan Rohani have created the possibility that future relations between the two countries be further improved. This probability may arise from several factors, mainly:

• Plans and Programs of Policy announced by President Rohani
• The mutual needs of Iran and Japan with regard to trade, economy etc.
• The stability Iran can bring to the Persian Gulf Region.

To promote a deep mutual understanding, the Iranian Ambassador talked about the current status and outlook for the relationship between the two countries.