Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama left for Thailand Friday to meet his Asia-Pacific counterparts in a series of summits, where he is expected to seek support for his "East Asian community" concept for closer regional cooperation.
During the summits related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Hatoyama is expected to show Japan's commitment to ASEAN and engage in discussions on ways to enhance regional cooperation from various aspects, including finance, food security, disaster preparedness, climate change and disarmament.
Meetings Hatoyama is scheduled to attend in the seaside resorts of Hua Hin and Cha-am are the Japan-ASEAN summit, the ASEAN-plus-three summit, involving the 10 members of ASEAN as well as China, Japan and South Korea, and the 16-nation East Asia Summit. He may also hold several bilateral talks on the sidelines.