ANKARA: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said Friday that his country will promote relations with Central Asian republics. It came after an earthquake rattled Japan. Kishida briefed Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev about his decision to cancel his trip to Central Asia, during a telephone call. "There is no change in Japan's determination that Japan will continue to strongly promote its relations between Central Asia and Japan as well as bilateral relations between Japan and Uzbekistan on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 'Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue,'" he told Mirziyoyev, according to a statement. Kishida explained that following an earthquake Thursday off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture, and a major earthquake warning issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency that same day, he decided to postpone his visit to deal with crisis management and disaster response. He said he regretted missing the trip and would like to appropriately coordinate his future visit by considering vario us circumstances. Mirziyoyev said he understands Kishida's decision and would like to continue to work with Japan to strengthen bilateral relations. A strong 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Japan Thursday triggering a tsunami alert. Several injuries and damage to buildings were reported in Miyazaki and two neighboring provinces. Kishida was set to fly to Astana to co-chair the first-ever summit with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He was scheduled to fly later to Mongolia to meet President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene. Those programs have been delayed. Source: Anadolu Agency