Japan, China, Russia and the United States may launch a multilateral conference to discuss a variety of issues, including the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region, Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi said Monday in a Diet speech.
The four nations must enjoy cooperative relations to build a framework for peace and stability in the region, Obuchi said. "For this, Japan is making efforts to further enhance our relations with the United States, the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy, to further develop our relations with China, and to make progress in our relations with Russia," he said.
On relations with the U.S., Obuchi said Japan will try to map out measures to effectively implement new bilateral defense guidelines, adopted last year, and promote the construction of a sea-based heliport in Okinawa Prefecture to take assume the operations at Futenma Air Station.