Abe eyes Southeast Asia for first trip

TOKYO (AFP) ― New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to make Southeast Asia his first foreign destination, reports said Tuesday, despite an earlier pledge to go to Washington before anywhere else.

The second-time premier is expected to visit Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam later this month, after “scheduling difficulties” put the brakes on a trip to the U.S., the major dailies Asahi and Yomiuri reported, without citing sources.

Abe said on Monday that although he wanted to visit the United States first to strengthen Tokyo’s alliance with Washington, “I’ve broadened the scope of my schedule, partly because of the circumstances (on the U.S. side).”

His visit to Washington is now being arranged for some time in February, the reports said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said early Wednesday he will visit Washington later this month for talks with his counterpart Hillary Clinton, the Kyodo news agency reported, in a trip that will set the stage for Abe’s visit.

The Jan. 18 trip was announced after Kishida spoke with the U.S. secretary of state late Tuesday and agreed to strengthen the Japan-U.S. security alliance to maintain stability in the region, Kyodo said.

“To that end, we also agreed to realize Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the United States and set up an opportunity to discuss the direction of strengthening the alliance,” the Japanese foreign minister said, according to Kyodo.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to comment on the reports, insisting nothing had been decided on Abe’s plans.

The hawkish Abe has stressed the importance of closer ties with Washington at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over a territorial row.

Abe went to China for his first foreign visit during his 2006-2007 tenure as prime minister, but said in the run-up to his landslide poll win last month that he would go to Washington ahead of any visit to a neighboring country.

U.S. President Barack Obama remains a popular figure in Japan.

The visit to Washington shortly after Obama’s 2008 inauguration by then-prime minister Taro Aso was seen as an indication of Tokyo’s importance to its ally.