Koizumi seeks to expand influence in Asia

Koizumi seeks to expand influence in Asia

Shingo Ito, Agence France-Presse, Tokyo

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will use a trip to
Southeast Asian nations this week to try to strengthen Tokyo's
economic and political influence in the region in the face of
China's growing clout.

Koizumi will visit the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia and Singapore in a trip starting on Wednesday. The tour
was originally scheduled for September but postponed after the
terrorist attacks in the United States that month.

It is the popular prime minister's first trip to those five
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries since he
took office in April last year.

"This trip is a good opportunity to hammer out our new
partnership with key Asian countries," a foreign ministry
official said.

Koizumi will start the week-long trip in Manila, where he will
meet Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Japanese premier flies to Kuala Lumpur to
meet Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad before moving on to Bangkok
on Friday to meet Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Koizumi will talk with Indonesia's President Megawati
Soekarnoputri in Jakarta on Saturday and Singaporean Prime
Minister Goh Chok Tong in the city state on Sunday before
returning to Tokyo on Jan. 15.

Koizumi is likely to use this trip to boost Japan's profile in
the region in a bid to counter China's intensified dialog with
ASEAN members, said Yasuhiro Takeda, professor of international
affairs at National Defense Academy in Japan.

"One of the main purposes of his trip is to stress Japan's
role in the region and the importance of close ties between Japan
and ASEAN members, at a time when China is approaching ASEAN
rapidly," Takeda said.

In November, Japan was left out in the cold when China and the
10-member ASEAN agreed to create the world's most populated free
trade bloc within 10 years, covering two billion consumers.

During the trip, Koizumi is expected to propose an action plan
to form a comprehensive economic alliance, including free trade
accords, with ASEAN members.

Japan is likely to hold a working-level meeting this month
with ASEAN counterparts to begin drawing up the action plan, the
Yomiuri Shimbun said paper, adding that Tokyo hopes to launch the
alliance in five to 10 years.

The alliance would include free trade accords, mutual
investment agreements, energy security treaties and a framework
designed to protect intellectual property, the newspaper said.

In October, Japan and Singapore completed negotiations to
launch a bilateral free trade accord, the first ever for the
world's second-biggest economy.

"Another objective of the trip is to let Asian countries
understand that Japan will never return to being a military
power," National Defense Academy's Takeda said.

Concerns about Tokyo's potential revival of militarism grew
after Koizumi made a controversial visit in August to the
Yasukuni Shrine dedicated to the nation's 2.5 million war dead,
including several war criminals.

"The ASEAN governments do not believe that Japan will become a
military power again, but ordinary people in the countries still
have fears and memories of Japan's militarism," Takeda said.

Many Asian survivors, in particular from China, South Korea
and the Philippines, are still seeking an apology and
compensation from the Japanese government for the brutality they
suffered at the hands of Japanese occupiers before and during
World War II.

Concerns about Japan's military activity were also raised by
Japan's decision to dispatch warships to the Indian Ocean to
provide non-combat support for the U.S.-led campaign against
terrorism in Afghanistan.

It was the first time since 1945 that Tokyo authorized
Japanese troops to support U.S. military action outside Japan's
territory and its surrounding areas.

Analysts also said Koizumi would seek ASEAN leaders'
understanding of Tokyo's plan to reduce its overseas aid as part
of Koizumi's efforts to reduce the nation's massive national
debt.

ASEAN members are the biggest beneficiaries of Japan's aid
after China, which received 214.4 billion yen (US$1.6 billion) in
Japanese low-interest loans, followed by the Philippines with
128.8 billion yen in the year to March 2001.

Indonesia was the third largest beneficiary, receiving 99.1
billion yen, with Vietnam getting 70.9 billion yen.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.