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Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda termed as “extremely regrettable” the collapse of the WTO talks at Geneva aimed at reaching a global trade pact. Japan was an active participant in the talks, along with the United States, Australia, Brazil, China, the European Union and India.1
In other developments, South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo visited the disputed Dokdo Island on July 29. This was after the Japanese Education ministry showed maps indicating that the island belonged to Japan.2 President Bush on his part decided to restore the status of the disputed islands claimed by both South Korea and Japan as territory belonging to South Korea.3
In other developments, reports noted that the naval drill scheduled for November may be cancelled due to the soaring fuel prices.4
- 1. “Japan PM calls WTO talks collapse 'extremely regrettable',” The Standard, July 30, 2008, at http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp? d=1416&icid=4&d_str=20080730/fn] The Japanese farmers have however welcomed the collapse of these talks as their success threatened to increase the imports of food into the country.
“Japan's Subsidized Farmers Welcome Collapse of WTO Trade Talks,” Bloomberg, July 30, 2008, at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aJlxPTp0Han4&refer=j... - 2. “Korea-Japan island issue heats up,” UPI, July 30, 2008, at http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/07/30/Korea-Japan_island_issue_heats_up...
- 3. “US restores Korean status of islets at center of Japan-S Korea row,” Associated Foreign Press, July 31, 2008, at http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hWkGA3-H4Fl_nZXqJpfd5TN9v8xg
- 4. “Japan may cancel navy drill amid high fuel prices,” Associated Press, July 30, 2008, at http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/30/asia/AS-Japan-Navy-Drill.php