Hashimoto begins ASEAN tour

Mon, 06 Jan 1997, 00:00 WIB | Source: REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuter): Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will
leave tomorrow for an eight-day tour of Southeast Asia despite
the Peru hostage situation.

The Japanese leader undertakes the mission in an air of
pessimism that the remaining 74 hostages held by left-wing
Peruvian guerrillas in the Japanese ambassador's residence in
Lima will be released soon.

Hashimoto's trip to five Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) members -- Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam
and Singapore -- is aimed at bolstering Japan's ties with the
region and mustering support for Japanese foreign policy
initiatives.

"The ASEAN countries, positioned as the core of the Asia-
Pacific region, have joined hands with Japan in the past,"
Hashimoto said on Saturday. "I would like to deepen that
relationship."

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