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 TOKYO (AP) - New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is moving quickly to mend Japan's tattered relations with its Asian neighbors, preparing to travel to China and South Korea as early as this weekend — less than two weeks after he assumed the nation's highest office.
The hastily arranged trip would mark a major gesture of rapprochement, but Abe may be hard-pressed to convince his counterparts in Beijing and Seoul, angry over visits by his predecessor to a Tokyo war shrine, that he has any significant policy changes up his sleeve.
Making good on a vow immediately after his election by parliament last week to put mending the rift atop his political agenda, Abe said Monday he hopes to meet with leaders in Beijing in Seoul to discuss ways to improve ties that have taken a battering over the past year.
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