ღJapanese officials said senior Afghan Taliban officials were in Japan for talks, as part of Tokyo's efforts to help Afghanistan build a more inclusive political system and protect human rights.
▨It's their first known diplomatic trip outside the Central Asia-Middle East region since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021.
🦹The unidentified Taliban senior officials were invited by grant-making organization Nippon Zaidan and were also set to talk with Japanese Foreign Ministry officials, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Monday.
☂The Taliban officials were invited to help them better understand the need “to have a broad perspective toward their future nation building and to widely accept humanitarian assistance from the international community for vulnerable people, Nippon Zaidan said in a statement. It declined to give details of the visitors and their schedule.
♏Japan does not formally recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's official government.
ꦆHayashi noted the visit was initiated by a private organization but complements the Japanese government's effort to work with the international community to call on the Taliban to make policy changes that protect human rights.
💛Restrictions the Taliban impose on women and girls are a major hurdle to the Taliban being recognised as the official government of Afghanistan.
𝓰The trip was initially revealed by Latif Nazari, the Taliban's deputy economy minister, who posted on the X platform that “a high-level delegation” was heading to Japan and that the Taliban seek dignified engagement with the world as an active member of the international community
