JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Japanese aid worker in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar on Tuesday, an official said.

Authorities have launched a search to find the man who was seized while working on a construction project in Daraye Noor of Nangarhar, provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said.
Taliban insurgents, who have been behind a series of abduction of Afghans and foreigners in recent years, said they had no information about the incident.
Japan does not have troops in Afghanistan, but its navy runs a maritime refueling operation in support of U.S.-led military operations in the country.
Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was looking into the possible kidnapping of the aid worker after its embassy in Kabul had received information about the incident from a UN body.
The man worked for a Japanese nongovernmental organization called Peshawar-kai, according to Japan's Koyodo news agency.
Peshawar-kai, based in southern Japan, was set up in 1983 and provides medical services in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to its website.
The group could not immediately be reached for comment.
Japan's refueling mission is set to become a key focal point of a session of parliament to be convened next month.
Unpopular Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda wants to extend the mission in the Indian Ocean after legislation expires in January.
But the opposition-controlled upper house will almost certainly reject a new bill to do so and the junior partner in the ruling coalition is wary of upsetting voters, many of whom oppose prolonging the mission, by forcing through the bill.