Aso Cabinet vows to resolve N. Korea abductions, strengthen Asia ties+

TOKYO, Sept. 24 Kyodo - New Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Cabinet stressed their determination Wednesday to press North Korea to resolve the issue of its past abductions of Japanese nationals and vowed to continue to strengthen relations with other Asian neighbors.

''I will utilize all occasions to build trust with my counterparts worldwide
and promote (Japan's) diplomacy,'' new Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone told
a press conference. ''This includes strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance and
promoting cooperation with neighbors like South Korea and China, while seeking
a comprehensive resolution for the North Korean abduction, nuclear and missile
issues.''
As the first step, Aso and Nakasone will head for New York on Thursday where
the new prime minister will address the U.N. General Assembly to convey Japan's
positions on global issues such as climate change and African development,
while the foreign minister will meet on the sidelines with his U.S. and Chinese
counterparts, Nakasone said.
In particular, Nakasone, 62, emphasized that strengthening relations with China
is of ''great significance'' for Japan and said, ''I hope to continue to
promote our mutually beneficial strategic relationship and through more
frequent high-level dialogue, not only at the United Nations, seek to
appropriately resolve pending issues.''
The remarks came as an apparent effort to dismiss concern especially in China
and South Korea that ties could deteriorate under the hawkish new premier, as
compared with his predecessor Yasuo Fukuda who promoted amicable relations with
Asian neighbors.
While stopping short of clearly stating he will not visit the controversial
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, the minister, the son of former Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone, said he would ''decide appropriately'' in his new capacity
as minister whether or not to pay homage there.
On North Korea, Aso named Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura as
concurrently in charge of the abduction issue.
''The abduction issue is a grave task in terms of our nation's sovereignty as
well as the people's safety and is an unacceptable violation of human rights,''
Kawamura, 65, told a news conference, assuring the public that the government
will work for ''the return of all abductees as soon as possible.''
''It is important for the Cabinet and the nation to work as a whole in tackling
this so that there will be no worries that the process for resolving the
abductions is moving backward,'' he added.
Speculation was high in late August that North Korea would finally fulfill a
promise that it made in June to reinvestigate the abduction cases and make
progress on the issue, but such action has yet to be realized as Fukuda
announced his resignation Sept. 1.
The six-party talks on the denuclearization of North Korea have also stalled
amid tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.
Meanwhile, neither Aso nor Nakasone went into detail on how they plan to mend a
rift with South Korea over Japan's claim to sovereignty over a pair of South
Korean-held islets in the Sea of Japan.
Regarding China, while relations have warmed significantly over the past two
years under the administrations of Fukuda and his predecessor Shinzo Abe,
including a political agreement in May on joint gas exploration in the disputed
East China Sea, obstacles remain.
The two neighbors have yet to settle their differences over the actual
demarcation of their overlapping exclusive economic zones and details such as a
clear timeline remain to be negotiated. Food safety issues connected to
products imported from China have also agitated public sentiment on both sides.