Japan aims for China and UNSC in Jakarta
Japan aims for China and UNSC in Jakarta
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Arriving in Jakarta on Thursday evening to attend the Asian-
African Summit here on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi has two main targets in his sights: China and a seat on
the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Sitting down with Chinese President Hu Jintao to calm the
currently highly charged relations between the two countries will
be the first priority during his three-day visit to Indonesia.
Although the Chinese government has said that it was still
considering Japan's proposal for a Jakarta bilateral summit,
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura sounded very
optimistic about the meeting.
"I am confident the meeting will definitely take place,"
Machimura said. He added that the meeting would likely take place
on Friday.
Koizumi plans to visit tsunami-hit Aceh on Saturday, before
the summit leaders attend the 50th anniversary of the Asia-Africa
Conference in Bandung on Sunday.
"We will make the announcement when we have the information,"
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular briefing in
Beijing on Thursday, as quoted by Agence-Presse France.
In Beijing, the Chinese government sent a conciliatory message
to Japan by warning demonstrators not to act against the law.
Violent anti-Japanese protests erupted in several cities in China
following the Japanese government's approval of a controversial
history textbook. The government is apparently also worried that
the violent demonstrations might backfire against itself.
According to Reuters, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said
Chinese should not take part in unapproved protests that could
"affect social stability".
Meanwhile, Koizumi is also expected to announce a major
increase in Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA), the
country's strongest diplomatic lever in getting more support for
its ambition to become a permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council. Japan was the largest donor in the world for 10
years up to 2000.
Machimura said Africa would get a bigger portion of Japan's
ODA. "We want to increase our ODA in order to achieve the goals
of our development assistance. But from next fiscal year onwards,
we hope to increase ODA, particularly to Africa," said Machimura,
adding that the Japanese prime minister himself was expected to
announce the new policy on Friday during the summit.
Japan is the second largest contributor to the UN budget,
contributing 19.46 percent of the total budget, while the United
States contributes 22 percent. Japan's contribution is 4.37
percent more than the total contribution of all other permanent
members of the Security Council -- China, France, Russia, Germany
and the United Kingdom.