Aso pledges $17 bil. in aid to Asia to help counter crisis

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 31 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged Saturday to provide more than $17
billion to help Asian countries strengthen their growth potential amid the
global financial crisis in an address at the annual meeting of the World
Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Aso also promised that Japan will set a medium-term emissions reduction target
for around 2020 by June this year to tackle global warming, saying Japan will
make more efforts toward reducing emissions.
''This year is the year when we decide on concrete actions,'' Aso said at a
special session of the weekend meeting held in the Swiss resort town of Davos.
''If all countries do not share the burden equitably in keeping with their
differentiated responsibilities, the problem will never be solved.''
In the speech titled ''My prescriptions for reviving the world economy,'' Aso
said it is ''Japan's foremost duty'' to have the world's second-largest economy
restore its vitality in countering the global financial turmoil.
Aso presented Japanese economic measures totaling 75 trillion yen and said it
is necessary to boost internal demand, while calling for steady implementation
of an action plan agreed on at the November financial summit in Washington to
stabilize the financial markets.
Aso also said Japan's position is to ''resolutely fight all protectionism'' and
expressed a desire to act with other countries toward concluding the stalled
Doha Round negotiations of the World Trade Organization.
To support Asian countries, Aso said the government is prepared to provide more
than $17 billion, or 1.5 trillion yen, to the region swiftly by mobilizing
official development assistance.
On climate change, Aso said Japan will help developing countries introduce
advanced energy-saving and low-carbon technologies so they can shift to
''low-carbon societies'' while maintaining high economic growth.
By announcing its determination to set a specific midterm emissions reduction
target, Japan aims to catch up with the European Union which is seen as ahead
of the rest of the world in tackling global warming.
Aso later told reporters that Japan will set a feasible midterm target, saying,
''It will not be persuasive if we cannot explain (the figure)...from the
aspects of economy, showing how much money will be needed, environment, and
energy.''
Japan also aims to create an environment for the country so it can exercise its
influence in global efforts to set up a new framework for after 2012, when the
current Kyoto Protocol expires.
On issues in the Middle East, Aso said that ''security measures and
reconstruction assistance are like two sides of the same coin,'' and declared
that Japan will dispatch Self-Defense Forces personnel to waters off the coast
of Somalia for an antipiracy mission in addition to engaging in the
antiterrorism refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
Aso also vowed to continue supporting people's livelihood in Afghanistan by
such means as constructing clinics and providing literacy education.
At the outset of his speech, Aso stated his conviction of ''peace and happiness
through economic prosperity and democracy'' by citing his concept of the ''Arc
of Freedom and Prosperity'' expressed when he was foreign minister two years
ago.
The concept ''clearly illustrates Japan's determination to support the efforts
of countries aspiring to market economies and democracy, and to travel the road
to prosperity together with those countries,'' Aso said.
The five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, a Geneva-based
international economic research institute, began Wednesday with the
participation of business, political and academic leaders from more than 40
countries.
Aso will return to Tokyo on Sunday.
==Kyodo
2009-02-01 00:00:40