Japan PM in Mideast to call for peace

TEL AVIV, July 11 (Reuters) Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrived in an increasingly tense W Asia today to call for more efforts towards peace, leaving behind a region set on edge by North Korean missile launches.

Japan has long felt it has a special role to play as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians since it lacks much of the political baggage of the United States, allowing for warmer ties with Arab nations.

Koizumi will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.

He then heads to Jordan for talks with King Abdullah.

''Japan can aid the region in a different way from the West, namely in the form of humanitarian aid and assistance for improving people's livelihoods,'' Koizumi said before leaving Tokyo.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said ties with Japan had improved on many levels. He said Israel hoped Koizumi's visit would help strengthen the relationship.

Israel launched an offensive into the Gaza Strip after Palestinian gunmen abducted an Israeli soldier late last month and has vowed to pursue the air and ground assault.

The United States and other world powers have boycotted the new Palestinian government led by the militant group Hamas and cut off financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, demanding Hamas disarm and recognise Israel and past peace agreements.

''It's true that the atmosphere in the Mideast now may not be conducive to discussions, but the long-term road both nations are on remains the same, and talks are the only solution,'' a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said at a briefing.

HUMANITARIAN AID Regev said Japan had contributed to nation-building in various Middle Eastern countries and the Palestinian Authority.

''We are interested in seeing Japan play an advanced positive role in the region,'' he said.

Japan is the second-largest aid donor to the Palestinian territories on a country basis after the United States, and Koizumi is likely to offer fresh humanitarian aid through international organisations, the way most of the 844 million dollar Japan has given the territories since 1993 has been dispensed.

On Saturday, Koizumi heads for the G8 summit of advanced nations in Russia, where the nuclear programmes of North Korea and Iran are expected to be on the agenda.

Political analysts said Koizumi may be using the West Asia trip as a distraction from other areas where diplomacy is not going so well, notably Japan's relations with China, North Korea and South Korea as well as Tokyo's so-far failed efforts to win permanent membership on the UN Security Council.

''He won't be meeting any people from Hamas out of consideration for the United States and Israel, and without that, the visit is completely meaningless,'' said Osamu Miyata, a professor at the University of Shizuoka in central Japan.

''It appears he's mainly going to improve his own image.'' A Japanese prime minister last visited Israel in 1995.

REUTERS SY BST2344