Friday, August 3, 2001
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with Prime Minister John Howard of Australia at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. At the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi explained his thinking toward and the current status of political and economic reforms. Prime Minister Howard highly evaluated Japan's assistance to East Timor and appealed for Japan's continued involvement in the future. The Prime Minister noted in response, "I appreciate the role played by Australia so far and would like both our countries to cooperate toward global stabilization." With regard to the Convention on Climate Change, Prime Minister Koizumi stated, "I would like to cooperate with Australia so that the Kyoto Protocol is ratified by as many countries as possible, including the United States." In response, Prime Minister Howard affirmed, "Given that the positions of Japan and Australia are close, I would like to continue cooperation." |