Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori leaves today for an eight-day trip to four Southwest Asian countries, during which he is expected to call on India and Pakistan to sign an international treaty banning tests of nuclear weapons.
Mori also plans to press India and Pakistan to resume their peace talks, which have been suspended since last year, Foreign Ministry officials said. The trip will also take him to Bangladesh and Nepal.
Mori is due to meet with Pakistan's ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on Monday and with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday, when he will urge them to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.