Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso arrived in South Korea yesterday for a visit aimed at discussing the global financial crisis, with Afghanistan and North Korea also high on the agenda.
Making his first visit to Seoul since becoming prime minister, Aso will hold talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak today in which they are expected to discuss the deadlocked negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear weapons drive.
The two leaders will also discuss cooperation in Afghanistan, where the Asian economic powers are both looking at expanding reconstruction aid, the Japanese foreign ministry said.
PHOTO: AP
The summit is part of the so-called “shuttle diplomacy” plan under which the two countries’ leaders hold annual summits.
“The government hopes the diplomatic visits by the two countries will encourage a higher level of exchanges by business leaders and others,” said a Japanese government official ahead of the prime minister’s visit.
But the exchange of visits with South Korea, which suffered under harsh Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, has often been disrupted by territorial or historical disputes.
Aso’s visit comes as a territorial row has erupted again over Japan’s claim to four uninhabited islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) that are administered by Seoul.
Aso, who has in the past angered other Asian nations by praising elements of Japanese imperialism, has made an effort since becoming prime minister not to irritate neighboring countries.
He also admitted last week that Koreans and Allied prisoners worked as forced labor at his family’s coal mine during World War II.
But the two leaders are expected to sidestep sensitive issues during the summit and focus on measures to tackle the global financial crisis, such as foreign currency credit swap programs.
“The No. 1 goal of the visit is to show the two countries are moving forward to cultivate better relations,” said Yoshinobu Yamamoto, professor of international politics at Aoyama Gakuin University, ahead of the summit. “The best solution for the territorial dispute for now is for both parties to keep their mouths shut.”
After arriving in Seoul, Aso first visited the South Korean national cemetery and donated flowers.
The prime minister, accompanied by a delegation of about 20 business leaders, including Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the powerful Japan Business Federation, plans to attend a luncheon hosted by South Korea’s top business bodies.
The weekend trip to Seoul comes as a respite for Aso from mounting opposition pressure at home.
Aso, who took office in September, is struggling with tumbling popularity that has dropped to about 20 percent, with voters critical of his handling of the economy and a series of gaffes by the conservative leader.
Japan’s resurgent opposition has been pressing Aso to dissolve parliament, seeing a chance finally to unseat his Liberal Democratic Party.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations
RSS