Clinton to meet Aso, Nakasone, families of abductees+

TOKYO, Feb. 13 Kyodo -
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hold talks with Prime Minister
Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Tuesday during a three-day
visit to Japan, Nakasone said Friday.

Clinton and Nakasone will sign a new accord on the planned relocation of some
U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam, Nakasone said. According to Japanese
government officials, she will also meet the same day with family members of
Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.
Nakasone said that Clinton, who is scheduled to arrive in Japan on Monday on
the first leg of her overseas debut as the top U.S. diplomat, will attend a tea
party to be hosted by Empress Michiko on Tuesday afternoon.
Clinton will also meet with Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in the afternoon,
the Defense Ministry said.
''I'd like to discuss in detail the various issues facing the world right
now,'' Nakasone said, citing the economic crisis, North Korea, the Middle East
and other topics. ''And what's most important is the strengthening of the
Japan-U.S. alliance.''
On the meeting with the abductees' families, the U.S. State Department said
earlier this week that Clinton would be open to the idea to show that
Washington remains concerned about the issue.
On Tuesday, Clinton will hold foreign ministerial talks with Nakasone in the
late morning, followed by a working lunch. They will then sign the accord on
the Guam relocation and hold a joint press conference.
Following the tea party with the empress, Clinton will meet with Aso in the
evening and attend a dinner banquet to be hosted by the prime minister,
Nakasone said.
Opposition party sources said earlier that Clinton has sounded out the
possibility of a meeting on Tuesday with Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the main
opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama said at a news conference Friday that
while Ozawa would be willing to meet with Clinton if there is such an
opportunity, arranging talks between them may ''not be so easy'' due to
scheduling difficulties.
Although the DPJ and the U.S. government are continuing efforts to arrange
talks between Ozawa and Clinton, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official
said such a meeting is unlikely.
The DPJ leader is apparently placing priority on delivering stump speeches in
local regions in preparation for the next House of Representatives election,
which must be held by the fall, according to political sources.
From Japan, Clinton will travel to Indonesia, South Korea and China.
==Kyodo