Tokyo: Iran today asked Japan to play a larger role in opposing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the Japanese government said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Japanese counterpart, Hirofumi Nakasone, held talks by telephone at Tehran's request, the foreign ministry said.

"Foreign Minister Mottaki said Iran expects Japan to play a role in the efforts to end the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip immediately," the ministry said in a statement.

Nakasone told Mottaki that Japan would "continue making proactive efforts on this issue as a member of the UN Security Council."

Nakasone also spoke to his Italian counterpart, Franco Frattini, separately by phone and agreed to cooperate among Group of Eight nations in calling for a truce in Gaza, the Tokyo foreign ministry said.

Japan, currently the chairman of the G8 group of wealthy nations, has sought a larger role in the Middle East. Tokyo last week announced it would provide USD 10 million in emergency humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Taro Aso has held separate telephone talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, which has little control over Gaza.

Source : PTI