鸠山由纪夫主张建立东亚共同体

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、中国和韩国的领导人本周六在北京举行三国峰会时，日本首相鸠山由纪夫(Yukio Hatoyama)将试图说服其他两国领导人支持他的主张──亚洲需要自己的经济联盟。

周六的会议将是对这一计划的首次重大考验。鸠山由纪夫的计划面临的障碍包括：区内各国相互间的竞争关系以及它们二战后长达数十年的彼此不信任。

这一提议也是鸠山由纪夫努力调整日本外交政策的重要行动之一。过去的50年，日本几乎一直由一个与美国关系密切的党派所统治。鸠山由纪夫的新执政党日本民主党认为，地区联盟有助于与迅速发展的邻国深化关系，同时也是日本在经济滑坡、人口减少之际保持自身影响力的一种途径。

鸠山由纪夫周六将访问中国，与中国国务院总理温家宝和韩国总统李明博(Lee Myung-bak)举行会晤。三国领导人去年12月曾举行会晤，一致同意今后将定期召开会议以加强合作。周六的会议将是去年12月以来的首次会晤。日本外务省官员说，周六会议的主要议题之一将是朝鲜。温家宝上周曾访问朝鲜，与朝鲜领导人金正日举行了会晤。

他们要求日本就过去对韩国的所作所为进行道歉。鸠山由纪夫周五将在首尔停留，首先与李明博会晤。韩国外交人士对鸠山由纪夫承诺不参拜靖国神社的做法表示欢迎。靖国神社中供奉的包括1,000多名二战战犯的灵位。自去年就任总统以来，李明博努力缓和与日本的一些民族争端，他认为韩日两国的关系应该“着眼于未来”。

上个月鸠山由纪夫与中国国家主席胡锦涛在纽约会晤后，日本官员说，中国对鸠山由纪夫建立东亚共同体的提议反应冷淡。不过，中国国有媒体也对鸠山由纪夫承诺不参拜靖国神社的做法作出了积极回应。

本周早些时候，日本外务大臣冈田克也(Katsuya Okada)说，东亚共同体应该包括日本、中国、韩国、印度、澳大利亚和新西兰，以及东盟国家。他说，这一共同体最初的关注点应该是经济合作。

据日本外务省的数据显示，这些国家共占去年全球经济产出的23%；相比之下，美国和欧盟分别占24%和30%。