鳩山由紀夫主張建立東亞共同體

Hatoyama To Promote Idea Of Asia Bloc At Summit

When the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea meet for a trilateral summit in Beijing on Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will try to persuade his counterparts to share his vision that Asia needs its own economic bloc.

Since taking office last month, Mr. Hatoyama has repeatedly discussed his desire to create what he calls an East Asian Community, a regional alliance inspired by the European Union. The meeting will be the first major test of his plan, which faces obstacles that include regional rivalries and decades of mistrust following the Second World War.

The proposal is also a key part of Mr. Hatoyama's effort to recalibrate Japan's foreign policy after more than five decades of nearly uninterrupted rule by a party closely aligned with the U.S. Mr. Hatoyama's new ruling Democratic Party of Japan sees a regional alliance as a way to deepen ties with faster-growing neighbors as well as preserve its clout amid a weakening economy and a shrinking population.

Mr. Hatoyama is visiting Bejing Saturday to sit down with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. This is the first such meeting since the heads of the three East Asian powers met in December last year and agreed to meet regularly to strengthen cooperation. Japanese foreign-ministry officials say one of the main topics of Saturday's meeting will be North Korea, after Mr. Wen visited North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang last week.

Mr. Hatoyama will stop in Seoul on Friday to meet first with Mr. Lee. South Korean diplomats have welcomed Mr. Hatoyama's promise not to visit a Tokyo shrine honoring Japan's war dead, including more than 1,000 individuals classified as convicted war criminals from World War II. Mr. Lee has tried to tamp down some nationalist disputes with Japan since he took office last year, saying he thinks the two countries' relationship should be 'future-focused.'

China's reaction to the proposed alliance has been cool, according to Japanese officials speaking after Mr. Hatoyama met with Chinese Prime Minister Hu Jintao in New York last month. Still, Chinese state-controlled media has also responded positively to Mr. Hatoyama's vow not to visit the war shrine.

Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said the group should include Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The group should initially focus on economic cooperation, he said.

The nations together accounted for 23% of the world's economic output last year, compared with 24% for the U.S. and 30% for the EU, according to Japanese foreign-ministry data.

日本、中國和韓國的領(lǐng)導人本周六在北京舉行三國峰會時，日本首相鳩山由紀夫(Yukio Hatoyama)將試圖說服其他兩國領(lǐng)導人支持他的主張──亞洲需要自己的經(jīng)濟聯(lián)盟。

周六的會議將是對這一計劃的首次重大考驗。鳩山由紀夫的計劃面臨的障礙包括：區(qū)內(nèi)各國相互間的競爭關(guān)系以及它們二戰(zhàn)后長達數(shù)十年的彼此不信任。

這一提議也是鳩山由紀夫努力調(diào)整日本外交政策的重要行動之一。過去的50年，日本幾乎一直由一個與美國關(guān)系密切的黨派所統(tǒng)治。鳩山由紀夫的新執(zhí)政黨日本民主黨認為，地區(qū)聯(lián)盟有助于與迅速發(fā)展的鄰國深化關(guān)系，同時也是日本在經(jīng)濟滑坡、人口減少之際保持自身影響力的一種途徑。

鳩山由紀夫周六將訪問中國，與中國國務院總理溫家寶和韓國總統(tǒng)李明博(Lee Myung-bak)舉行會晤。三國領(lǐng)導人去年12月曾舉行會晤，一致同意今后將定期召開會議以加強合作。周六的會議將是去年12月以來的首次會晤。日本外務省官員說，周六會議的主要議題之一將是朝鮮。溫家寶上周曾訪問朝鮮，與朝鮮領(lǐng)導人金正日舉行了會晤。

他們要求日本就過去對韓國的所作所為進行道歉。鳩山由紀夫周五將在首爾停留，首先與李明博會晤。韓國外交人士對鳩山由紀夫承諾不參拜靖國神社的做法表示歡迎。靖國神社中供奉的包括1,000多名二戰(zhàn)戰(zhàn)犯的靈位。自去年就任總統(tǒng)以來，李明博努力緩和與日本的一些民族爭端，他認為韓日兩國的關(guān)系應該“著眼于未來”。

上個月鳩山由紀夫與中國國家主席胡錦濤在紐約會晤后，日本官員說，中國對鳩山由紀夫建立東亞共同體的提議反應冷淡。不過，中國國有媒體也對鳩山由紀夫承諾不參拜靖國神社的做法作出了積極回應。

本周早些時候，日本外務大臣岡田克也(Katsuya Okada)說，東亞共同體應該包括日本、中國、韓國、印度、澳大利亞和新西蘭，以及東盟國家。他說，這一共同體最初的關(guān)注點應該是經(jīng)濟合作。

據(jù)日本外務省的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，這些國家共占去年全球經(jīng)濟產(chǎn)出的23%；相比之下，美國和歐盟分別占24%和30%。