Mainichi :: Friday, April 24, 2009

• U.S. to appoint Kurt Campbell assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs
  WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday that Kurt Campbell will be appointed as new assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. continued ...


• China announces official visit by Aso
  BEIJING (AP) -- Prime Minister Taro Aso will make an official visit to China next week, Beijing announced Friday, a day after protesting an offering given by the Japanese leader to a war shrine seen as a symbol of his country's militarist past. continued ...


• Foreign Ministry desperate to calm row over aide to Aso's gaffe on Northern Territories
  The Foreign Ministry has been desperately trying to calm down controversy stirred by an adviser to Prime Minister Taro Aso, who suggested in a recent interview that the Northern Territories occupied by Russia can be evenly split between the two countries. continued ...