An Iranian deputy foreign minister says Iran and Japan are two peace-seeking countries, which are after establishing peace and stability across the world, Press TV reported.
"The Iranian nation has always been famed for being a peace-seeking nation and has not initiated any war in the past 200 years," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Oceania Abbas Araqchi said Thursday.
Araqchi was speaking during a ceremony marking the beginning of Japan's Culture Week, which was attended by Japanese Chargé d'affaires in Tehran Nozomu Takaoka and a group of Japanese expatriates in Tehran's Arasbaran Cultural Center.
The center will be exhibiting Japanese customs and rituals over the next week.
Araqchi added, "Japan has helped establish peace and stability in the world after the Second World War and has taken countless measures to establish peace and stability in various parts of the world."
He said Iran and Japan enjoy a great many cultural commonalities and artifacts from both countries show that the two enjoy a cultural history of more than 2,500 years.
Araqchi further welcomed the Japanese Culture Week in Iran, saying, "Such ceremonies greatly help the two nations reach a better cultural and social understanding [of one another]."
For his part, the Japanese chargé d'affaires praised the efforts of the Islamic Republic, particularly the country's Foreign Ministry, in expanding bilateral ties.