Tokyo: Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe got down to his first full day of work on Wednesday, calling for talks with China and South Korea.
Optimism over the new leader sent Tokyo stocks surging. A poll put his Cabinet approval rating at 65 per cent.
Abe also agreed to keep close ties with the US, promising to meet US President George W Bush at a regional conference in November, during the two leaders' first phone conference, according to officials and news reports.
Abe has declared Tokyo's military alliance with Washington the basis of Japan's security and foreign policy. Under a mutual security pact, the US has about 50,000 troops stationed throughout Japan.
But the new leader faces challenges in repairing Japan's relations with neighboring countries, which have hit their lowest point in decades over former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to a war shrine linked to Japan's past militarism.
China and South Korea, both brutally colonized by Japan in the last century, have refused top-level talks with Koizumi over the issue.
New chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Abe was ready to meet with South Korean or Chinese leaders at any time.
''We both share an understanding that we should work to hold top-level talks as early as possible,'' Shiozaki said, but adding there were no specific plans. ''It is necessary for both sides to make an effort,'' he said.
South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Lee Kyu-hyung said Wednesday he expected Tokyo to make ''sincere and active'' efforts to improve relations. Beijing has also urged Abe to pursue better bilateral ties.
Earlier on Wednesday, Abe huddled with his new Cabinet and made a flurry of sub-Cabinet level appointments to what Shiozaki dubbed ''Team Abe.'' The premier has said he wants to strengthen his office and reorganize its operations into a body that more closely resembles the US White House, with a crew of advisors and more autonomy.
''I would like you to take active political leadership and engage in good teamwork,'' Abe told his staff at a meeting Wednesday which was aired by public broadcaster NHK.
Team Abe has a lot on its plate. During his party campaign, Abe outlined a wide-ranging agenda that promised to continue structural reforms started under Koizumi, to raise Japan's overseas standing, strengthen its alliance with Washington, and push North Korea to come clean on its past abductions of Japanese citizens.
Other items on Abe's radar include fiscal reform, measures to combat Japan's falling birth rate and revamping the country's education system.
Initial forecasts have been mixed over whether Abe and his team, which includes many conservatives close to the premier – can effectively tackle that agenda.
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