TORONTO — Naoto Kan may think he is curiously connected with Canada as part of Japan's top political echelon — but not because the sound of his surname conjures up the name of the country where he just made his diplomatic debut as prime minister.
In less than six months, Kan has made two official trips to Canada, first as finance minister and this time as prime minister to attend the Group of Eight and Group of 20 summits in and around Toronto over the weekend.
Kan, who assumed office June 8, probably never imagined he would revisit Canada this soon, especially as prime minister, when he was in the remote Arctic town of Iqaluit in February for a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven industrial powers.