Mind on election, Japan PM heads to China
JAPAN: Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso heads Thursday to a summit in
China, hoping to show his experience managing difficult relations
between the Asian powers as he braces for tough elections at home.
| Beijing summit of Asian and
European leaders from Friday, is expected to be dominated by
discussion of the global financial crisis |
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Taro Aso |
Aso, who took over a month ago, will take part in Beijing in a summit
of Asian and European leaders from Friday, which is expected to be
dominated by discussion of the global financial crisis.
Aso, a former foreign minister who has touted his record in
diplomacy, is likely to try to show a leadership role for Japan, whose
own banking system collapsed a decade ago under the weight of bad loans.
Analysts expect Aso to be pragmatic, despite his reputation as a
conservative whose sharp tongue has often riled other Asian nations.
Diplomats said Aso would use summits with Chinese leaders to raise
concerns on food safety.
A Japanese woman recently fell ill from eating frozen beans in the
latest incident with Chinese-made food.
Japan has uneasy relations with its neighbours due largely to the
legacy of Tokyo’s past aggression. Relations hit rock bottom during the
2001-2006 premiership of Junichiro Koizumi. But the two countries have
since been repairing relations.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in a message to Aso on Thursday that
there was an “important opportunity” to build relations.
“China is willing to join hands with Japan to deepen mutually
beneficial cooperation, expand friendly exchanges and continue to push
current bilateral ties forward,” Wen said. Aso is also expected to meet
with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to seek cooperation on North
Korea.
Japan’s opposition, which is pushing for snap elections, has attacked
the prime minister for failing to stop the United States from removing
North Korea from a blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.
The US move jumpstarted nuclear disarmament talks. But Japan has
wanted North Korea to give a fuller accounting of Japanese civilians it
kidnapped in the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies — an issue that
strikes an emotional chord for the Japanese public.
The opposition has been gaining ground as voters blame Aso’s Liberal
Democratic Party — who have been in power almost continuously since 1955
— for a sagging economy and corruption scandals.
Aso replaced Yasuo Fukuda, who was known for his conciliatory views
towards other Asian nations and held a series of summits with Chinese
leaders.
TOKYO, Thursday, AFP
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