Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Thursday urged the people of Japan and Iran to draw closer by overcoming differences in culture, language and mentality.

"Opening up a dialogue with Japanese at times seems facile and at others somehow difficult for Iranians," Khatami told a gathering of students and Iranian expats at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

But he said that reflecting on and finding common elements in the roots of their respective cultures is crucial to overcoming obstacles to dialogue, citing the similarities between Islamic mysticism and Japanese gnosticism.

Khatami, in Japan for a four-day official visit that ends today, said both traditions pay heed to what he called "allusive language" as opposed to "literal language," and that this could set the stage for genuine dialogue.

"The Islamic mysticism and Zen teach us how to experience reality -- the only one reality -- before it is rented into pieces through language. Once we achieve this intuitive vision of reality, our language will no longer be our prison," Khatami said.

He criticized Western thought, which he says is based on the belief that any linguistic communication between individuals of different cultures is impractical and almost impossible, saying the world is facing a dangerous situation due to the powerful influence of the Western mentality and Western technology.

"To save humanity from imminent dangers . . . we have no option but to heed the voices rising from the depth of various cultures, such as the past culture of the West and the common heritage of India, Iran, Japan, China and other cultural domains," Khatami said.

Khatami's lecture was relayed live to other academic institutions in Japan, including Kyoto University, via an intercom system.