Hashimoto's visit may be postponed

JAKARTA (JP): The Japanese Embassy here confirmed yesterday the possible postponement of Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's visit to Indonesia and four other ASEAN countries scheduled for Jan 7-15, Antara reported.

The embassy's press attache, Takanori Watanabe, attributed the possible delay to the unresolved hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, Peru, by rebels of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA).

"We can not confirm for how long the postponement may be," he said. If the hostage crisis was not resolved by the end of the month, the planned trip would definitely be postponed, he said.

However, a foreign ministry official told AFP in Tokyo that "nothing has been decided (yet)" on the issue and the prime minister's schedule has "not been changed".

Hashimoto is scheduled to visit Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which also includes the Philippines and Thailand.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda earlier postponed a trip to South Korea, originally set to begin Thursday, due to the crisis in Lima.

Ikeda may also call off a trip to Britain and India in January if the remaining hostages were not released soon, sources said.

MRTA rebels seized the ambassador's residence on Dec. 17, taking more than 400 people hostage during an official reception. Some 104 hostages are still being held. (swe)