Alex, welcome back, we missed you!
Japan's foreign minister vows pro-America policy
08:39 a.m. Jul 31, 1998 Eastern
By Teruaki Ueno
TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - New Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura
said on Friday that Tokyo would pursue a pro-American foreign policy but
it would not necessarily mean Japan always obeyed the United States.
''To continue to be pro-American, we don't have to continue to pursue
diplomacy which the general public feels lacks originality and that
Japan is obeying the United States,'' Komura said.
''Diplomacy has to be backed by public understanding. It is the same in
any other country,'' he told a group of journalists in an interview.
Komura said Japan has already launched such a diplomatic drive towards
Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia.
''We have already secured considerable understanding appraisals from
Asia, Europe and the United States,'' he said. ''We would like to
advance it further.''
Critics argue that Japan's foreign policy has been ''faceless'' and
virtually controlled by the United States since its defeat in World War
Two.
Despite its tight fiscal conditions, Japan, the world's biggest aid
donor, would continue to extend substantial economic assistance to
developing countries, Komura said.
''In order for Japan to pursue diplomacy with strong leadership and to
be trusted by other countries, we must continue to extend aid to
developing countries,'' he said.
Japan, hit by its worst recession since World War Two, has cut overseas
aid by 10 percent for the current fiscal year, which started on April 1,
as part of widespread fiscal reform.
''Although fiscal conditions are severe, we would like to secure as
large a foreign aid budget as possible next year,'' Komura said.
Komura was formally named on Thursday to lead the country's Foreign
Ministry, taking up the post that had been held by new Prime Minister
Keizo Obuchi.
Komura, who along with Obuchi named improved ties with Russia as a key
diplomatic goal, said he was considering visiting Moscow in September to
pave the way for a visit later this year by Obuchi.
Russia and Japan, once bitter Cold War foes, remain at loggerheads over
the ownership of four Pacific islands, which has blocked the signing of
a peace treaty to formally end World War Two hostilities.
At a meeting last November in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, then
prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Russian President Boris Yeltsin
pledged to work towards signing a peace treaty by the year 2000.
Obuchi told a separate news conference that he would like to ask
Hashimoto to help him maintain good ties with Moscow.
''It's not a firmly defined job, but I would like to ask Mr Hashimoto to
help out in Russo-Japanese diplomacy in a public capacity under the
cabinet's responsibility,'' Obuchi said.
On North Korea, Komura urged Pyongyang to soften its hardline stance and
come forward with ''constructive'' proposals that could open the way for
bilateral talks aimed at normalising relations between Tokyo and
Pyongyang.
''North Korea is facing very serious economic difficulties and there are
signs that a new government is being installed,'' Komura said. ''We
therefore hope that North Korea would present us with more constructive
proposals,'' he said.
((Tokyo Newsroom +81-3 3432 8018
tokyo.newsroom+reuters.com))
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. |
