Japan’s Aso to visit China in late October

JAPAN: Japan’s new Prime Minister Taro Aso plans to visit China in late October and hold his first summit with Chinese leaders since taking office last month, a report said Sunday.

He will attend a meeting of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) scheduled in Beijing for October 24-25 and plans to hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, Kyodo News reported citing unnamed government sources.

There has been speculation that Aso may call a general election sometime this month, making some within the Japanese government concerned he may not be able to visit the ASEM meeting.

But Aso has indicated he will first implement measures to fight the impending economic slowdown rather than calling a snap election, which would allow him to schedule the visit to Beijing, Kyodo said.

During the visit, Aso also plans to attend a ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the conclusion of the peace and friendship treaty between Japan and China, the report said.

Aso did not visit China when he was foreign minister from October 2005 until August 2007 for premiers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe.

During his stint as foreign minister, Japan’s relations with China were at their lowest ebb due to Koizumi’s pilgrimage to a Tokyo war shrine.

Aso took over from former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, a longtime advocate of better ties with Asia, after he stepped down amid sagging popularity.

The current term of Japan’s lower house will expire in September next year but the opposition has stepped up demands for an early election after two prime ministers from the ruling conservative Liberal-Democratic Party quit within the space of a year.

Tokyo, Sunday, AFP