Japan seeks help for Egypt tourists, urges calm

TOKYO: Japan called on Egypt on Sunday to help some 500 Japanese tourists stranded at Cairo airport due to the political turmoil in the country, urging a peaceful solution to the current upheavals.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara expressed his concern at a meeting with ambassador Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser and called on Egypt's government and people to "establish a stable government through dialogue and solve the problem in a peaceful manner," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The minister highlighted the plight of Japanese tourists whose Japan-bound flights by Egyptian flag carrier EgyptAir have been cancelled.

Maehara asked that EgyptAir normalise its flights to Japan and increase them to make up for the cancellations -- a request the Egyptian envoy promised to pass on to his government, the press release said.

On Saturday, the foreign ministry upgraded its security warning for Egypt, advising travellers to postpone journeys to the country.

The ministry also set up an emergency taskforce and ordered diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens in the region.