A Taliban delegation has arrived in Japan on what is the first visit by the group that rules Afghanistan, according to media in the East Asian country.

The delegation, consisting of foreign affairs, education, economy and health officials, arrived on Sunday for a weeklong visit, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported. The visit is a rarity for the Taliban, whose diplomatic trips have previously remained close to Afghanistan since regaining power in 2021.

The Taliban representatives are expected to seek humanitarian support and potentially discuss diplomatic ties with Japanese officials.

Latif Nazari, a deputy minister at the Taliban’s economy ministry, described the visit as part of the group’s efforts to become an “active member of the international community”.

“We seek dignified interaction with the world for a strong, united, advanced, prosperous, developed Afghanistan and to be an active member of the international community,” Nazari, who is part of the delegation, wrote in a post on X on Saturday.

Citing Afghan diplomatic sources, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said the Taliban representatives plan to “exchange views with Japanese government officials”.

Rare trip outside the region

While the Taliban government makes regular visits to neighbouring and regional countries, including Central Asia, Russia and China, it rarely travels outside the region. It has officially visited Europe only for diplomacy summits in Norway in 2022 and 2023.

Japan’s embassy in Kabul temporarily relocated to Qatar after the fall of the previous foreign-backed government and the takeover by the Taliban in 2021. But it has since reopened and resumed diplomatic and humanitarian activities in the country.

The Taliban’s visit to Japan comes just days after ISIL (ISIS) claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing outside the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in Kabul, the latest in a series of attacks by the group.

Japan’s embassy condemned the attack, posting on X on Sunday that “these attacks of terror must cease immediately”.