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Japanese premier heads to Europe

Sunday, 19 March 2017 5:20 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 19 March 2017 5:20 PM ]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) waves before leaving Tokyo's Haneda Airport on March 19, 2017 for a four-day trip to Europe. (Photo by AFP)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe headed Sunday for a four-day trip to Europe, hoping to discuss security issues and make progress on trade as regional tensions soar over accelerating North Korean threats.

Abe's trip, which will take him to Germany, France, Belgium and Italy, comes a few days after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Tokyo for talks on North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

The top US diplomat also travelled to Seoul and Beijing after Tokyo.

"I want to exchange opinions openly with G7 leaders," Abe told reporters at a Tokyo airport before his departure.

"We hope to closely cooperate with the EU on issues the international community is facing such as the problems on North Korea and free trade," he said.

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Abe's itinerary includes a visit to technology show CeBIT in Hanover followed by a summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Paris.

Abe will hold talks with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and freshly re-elected European Union President Donald Tusk in Brussels as the EU aims to close a free trade deal with Tokyo this year.

The Japanese premier will return to Tokyo on Wednesday after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, chair of this year's Group of Seven industrialized countries.

(Source: AFP)

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