AFP, TOKYO, July 10, 2008 (excerpts) – Japan on Thursday urged Iran to show restraint after it tested a missile capable of reaching Israel, warning that the move could bolster the case for slapping for international sanctions against Tehran.

Japan “strongly calls for self-restraint on this kind of action, which only puts regional peace and stability at a disadvantage,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, the government’s top spokesman, told reporters.
Iran on Wednesday test-fired its Shahab-3 missile, whose longer range puts Israel within reach, amid growing fears that the standoff over Tehran’s contested Iranian nuclear could lead to war.
“I wonder what kind of international sense they have in launching (the missile) purposely on the last day of the summit,” Machimura said.
“It is because they take this kind of action that discussion about imposing sanctions on Iran is intensified,” he added.