VIENNA (Kyodo) -- A senior representative of a Taliban opposition group expressed disappointment Wednesday that a high-ranking Japanese foreign ministry official met a delegation from the hard-line Islamist organization during its first-known Japan visit since its 2021 takeover of Afghanistan.

Abdullah Khenjani, head of political office for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, an armed group loyal to the previous government, told reporters in Vienna that he believes "the people of Afghanistan felt so disappointed" with the meeting in Tokyo.

A former senior deputy minister for peace in the government overthrown by the Taliban, Khenjani urged Japan not to "gamble" with its credibility and soft power potential in Afghanistan by banking on the "crumbling" Taliban regime.

Toshihide Ando, head of the Foreign Ministry's Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, on Tuesday held an "informal exchange of views" with the delegation, including Latif Nazari, deputy minister of economy, and called on the Taliban to "reflect the voice of the Afghan people" when governing.

The Taliban have limited women's rights, banning girls from secondary and higher education and imposing restrictions on dress and employment opportunities.

The senior members of the Taliban regime, which Japan does not recognize as Afghanistan's official government, arrived Sunday at the invitation of Tokyo-based nonprofit grant-making organization the Nippon Foundation.

Khenjani said the arrangement through the foundation was an "excuse that it's not by the government," pointing out that Japan has authority to issue the required visas.

Khenjani and NRF head Ahmad Massoud, son of assassinated Afghan national hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, were in Vienna for a conference on democracy in Afghanistan attended by political groups and anti-Taliban organizations.