Photo/Illutration Senior Taliban officials at a meeting in Kabul in 2022 (Takashi Ishihara)

A delegation of senior Taliban officials arrived on Feb. 16 for the first visit to Japan by the Islamic group since it effectively recaptured control of Afghanistan in August 2021.

The delegation of around six interim government officials in charge of diplomacy, healthcare, education, cultural properties and other policies will stay in Tokyo and elsewhere for about a week, sources close to the Taliban said.

Some of the members hold posts equivalent to a vice minister in the interim government in Kabul.

The Taliban sent the delegation in response to an invitation offered by an executive of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, a think tank, and Tadamichi Yamamoto, former head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, during a visit there last summer.

The group is expected to seek more humanitarian support for the landlocked country and may also discuss ties between Japan and Afghanistan with Japanese government officials.

The visit could trigger protests because of how the Taliban treats women, as well as its past attacks on the civilian population. No country has recognized the interim government as legitimately representing Afghanistan.

The Taliban sharply restricts the employment of women as well as the education of Afghan girls from junior high school age.

In an interview in December, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the interim government, called on other countries not to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs with respect to women’s rights.

Japan continues to maintain diplomatic functions in Afghanistan and has provided support for medical facilities through the United Nations.

In recent years, the Taliban sent representatives to Afghan-related international conferences held in Russia, China, Qatar and elsewhere.

The group’s delegates met with Western government officials in Norway in January 2022.

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