The leader of Komeito, the junior party in the ruling bloc, on Sunday urged Japan to take the lead in creating a permanent regional framework that includes the United States, China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region to promote dialogue and avoid conflict amid soaring tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Natsuo Yamaguchi said in a speech in Tokyo that the increasingly severe security environment in Asia has prompted a need for a regional body resembling the Organisation for Security and Economic Co-operation, a framework that includes European nations, the U.S. and Russia. The OSCE is currently involved in talks on negotiating peace in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
"In Asia, there is no permanent mechanism for dialogue between China, the U.S., the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries," Yamaguchi said.