Cabinet reshuffle after Abe's South, SEast Asia trip?
The trip aimed at strengthening bilateral ties comes less than a month after Abe's crushing defeat in elections.
By Agencies |
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left for a weeklong visit to South and Southeast Asia, including India, on Sunday with plans to reshuffle his beleaguered government's Cabinet upon his return.
The three-nation trip aimed at strengthening bilateral ties comes less than a month after Abe's ruling bloc suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections following a series of gaffes and scandals involving key ministers.
Speaking to reporters at Tokyo's Haneda Airport before his departure, Abe said he was "basically thinking along the lines" of reshuffling his Cabinet and the leadership of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Aug. 27, moves he pledged to undertake in response to the electoral setback.
Abe's first stop is Indonesia, where he and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are expected to sign a free trade agreement. The deal will ensure oil-and-gas shipments to Japan and reduce most tariffs on trade between the countries, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry.
The prime minister heads next on Tuesday to India, where he is expected to exchange views on environmental issues with the country's new President Pratibha Patil, as well as address parliament.
Before heading to Malaysia on Thursday, Abe is also slated to stop in Kolkata, West Bengal, to meet with the son of Radhabinod Pal, a judge from India who sat on the bench at the post-World War II Tokyo war crimes' trials.
In Kuala Lumpur, Abe is set to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and pay a courtesy call on the current king before returning to Japan on Saturday.
The three-nation trip aimed at strengthening bilateral ties comes less than a month after Abe's ruling bloc suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections following a series of gaffes and scandals involving key ministers.
Speaking to reporters at Tokyo's Haneda Airport before his departure, Abe said he was "basically thinking along the lines" of reshuffling his Cabinet and the leadership of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Aug. 27, moves he pledged to undertake in response to the electoral setback.
Abe's first stop is Indonesia, where he and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are expected to sign a free trade agreement. The deal will ensure oil-and-gas shipments to Japan and reduce most tariffs on trade between the countries, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry.
The prime minister heads next on Tuesday to India, where he is expected to exchange views on environmental issues with the country's new President Pratibha Patil, as well as address parliament.
Before heading to Malaysia on Thursday, Abe is also slated to stop in Kolkata, West Bengal, to meet with the son of Radhabinod Pal, a judge from India who sat on the bench at the post-World War II Tokyo war crimes' trials.
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In Kuala Lumpur, Abe is set to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and pay a courtesy call on the current king before returning to Japan on Saturday.
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