Tokyo - Two ships with cargo ''related to Japan'' have been attacked Thursday in the Strait of Ormuz, one of them operated by a Japanese company, Japanese Trade Minister, Hiroshige Seko, confirmed Thursday in Tokyo.

The Minister, quoted by the Kyodo agency, explained that the ship managed by the Japanese company Kokuka Sangyo was heading to Thailand first and then Singapore.

Seko did not specify who was responsible for the attack nor did he confirm the type of cargo the ships were moving, but only that the government is investigating the incident that occurred on a strategic route for world oil exports as it is located between the coasts of Iran and Oman.

In addition, the fact coincides with the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, to Teheran, who in recent hours has met with the most important Iranian authorities with the mission of mediating in the tensions between the Persian country and the United States.

Abe expressed his concern about the Pentagon's escalation against an alleged Iranian threat by deploying an attack group in the Persian or Arabian Gulf that includes an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles.

The misfortunes of these two ships put on alert the navigation in the area, after similar events occurred last May 12 in waters under the jurisdiction of the United Arab Emirates against four oil tankers.

Peace in the Middle East is a priority for Japan, whose oil needs come from the area and would suffer a total crisis in the face of a war and a closure of the Strait of Ormuz through which 30 percent of the world's crude oil is carried.