Domestic priorities giving Aso headache in scheduling trips abroad

TOKYO, Jan. 6 Kyodo -
With his hands full trying to secure parliamentary passage of two budget
proposals, Prime Minister Taro Aso is struggling to schedule overseas visits
such as trips to attend the World Economic Forum summit in Switzerland this
month and the East Asia Summit slated for late February in Thailand, Japanese
government sources said Tuesday.
Aso is expected to kick off his diplomatic efforts this year with a two-day
visit to South Korea from Sunday for talks with President Lee Myung Bak.
However, a meeting with Barack Obama, who will become the new U.S. president on
Jan. 20, has yet to be fixed, the sources said.
In Japan, the prime minister and members of the Cabinet are required to attend
parliamentary deliberations to answer questions from ruling and opposition
lawmakers. They also need to obtain Diet approval when making foreign visits,
including from the opposition parties which control a majority in the upper
house.
''It all depends on the budget deliberations, but we hope he'll be able to go
even if it is a three-day-one-night whirlwind trip,'' a government source said
regarding Aso's attendance at the Switzerland summit, dubbed the Davos forum,
scheduled to begin Jan. 28.
With Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,
among others, expected to take part in the forum, Aso's appearance is crucial
for Japan's hopes to promote its measures and leadership in tackling the global
financial crisis, the sources said.
As for the East Asia Summit, which was postponed from December due to political
unrest in Thailand, it remains possible that Aso will have to skip the occasion
if parliamentary deliberations on the budget bills, which the ruling parties
hope to pass before the fiscal year ends in March, reach their climax,
according to the sources.
Foreign Ministry officials are hoping to win the understanding of the
opposition camp, led by the Democratic Party of Japan, to enable the prime
minister to make the planned overseas trips.
Regarding the next Group of 20 financial summit scheduled to be held in London
on April 2, a ministry official said, ''The absence of the (Japanese) prime
minister would be inconceivable as it would damage our international
credibility.''
In addition, it is likely that the first talks between Aso and the new U.S.
president after Obama's inauguration will not be realized until February or
later, such as on the sidelines of the London summit, the sources said.
Aso is aiming to secure prompt passage of a 4.79 trillion yen supplementary
budget for fiscal 2008 and a record-high 88.55 trillion yen budget for fiscal
2009 during the 150-day parliamentary session which convened Monday.
Despite pressure from the opposition parties, who are calling on him to
dissolve the House of Representatives for a general election, Aso has said he
is placing priority on expediting measures to support people's livelihoods amid
the economic crisis.
Last year, when Japan held the Group of Eight presidency, then Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukuda squeezed in a trip to Davos after fielding questions from
opposition party leaders in parliamentary question-and-answer periods at the
outset of the regular Diet session.
==Kyodo
2009-01-06 22:07:54