Japan to send 2 envoys to U.S, Europe to prepare for summit

TOKYO, Nov. 4 Kyodo - The government said Tuesday it will dispatch two special envoys of Prime Minister Taro Aso to the United States and Europe to prepare for the Nov. 15 global financial summit in Washington.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said former Vice Foreign Minister
Yoshiji Nogami and former Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Toyoo
Gyohten will soon travel to major economies participating in the summit to
convey Japan's viewpoints.
''They have excellent knowledge of international finance and diplomacy,'' he
said of Nogami and Gyohten. ''We expect them to offer explanations to, and ask
for the cooperation of, countries concerned and international organizations as
the premier's envoys.''
The upcoming summit to be hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush will bring
together leaders of the Group of 20 economies and explore ways to overcome the
ongoing global credit crisis and prevent a recurrence.
The Nov. 15 gathering is also expected to discuss a new international financial
architecture through the reform of multilateral institutions such as the
International Monetary Fund, and support through the IMF for emerging economies
hit by the crisis.
Aso hopes to host a second round of the G-20 summit as a follow-up meeting in
Japan possibly in December. He will let the two envoys sound out other G-20
members about the plan, government sources said.
Nogami currently serves as an adviser to Mizuho Corporate Bank, while Gyohten
is the president of the Institute for International Monetary Affairs.
The G-20 economies are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China,
France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Kawamura said Japan will seek an internationally coordinated approach in
reforming the current regulatory system for financial institutions, regulations
on the credit rating agencies and mark-to-market accounting rules.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been positive about tightening financial
regulation globally, but the United States is rather negative about the idea,
according to the sources.
Aso has said he is hoping to talk with leaders of fellow G-20 economies about
how to build a realistic international framework for financial supervision and
regulation.
On the current credit turmoil sparked by a meltdown of the U.S. subprime
mortgage, the premier has blamed financial institutions for their ''fraudulent
conduct.'' He said that information on the subprime-related securitized
financial products was unclear.
The premier has also indicated that he will propose easing the current
mark-to-market accounting rules as he cast doubt on the appropriateness of
adopting them all the time, particularly when stock prices fluctuate.
The market-value accounting rules are believed to be one factor behind
increased volatility recently in financial markets and some countries have been
reviewing those rules.
==Kyodo