Hashimoto begins ASEAN tour

Mon, 06 Jan 1997 | 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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