Foreign Minister Yohei Kono left Tokyo on Monday on a tour that will see him visit four nations in the Middle East, Sweden and Russia.

Kono is due to return on Jan. 18.

During his visit to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Kono will unveil a new initiative to step up security dialogue between the Mideast region and Japan.

The initiative includes plans to stage a multilateral seminar with these countries regarding Persian Gulf issues. It is also likely to include an offer to cooperate with the region on the desalination of seawater and a statement of Japan's readiness to learn about Islamic culture through dialogue between Middle Eastern and Japanese academics.

After touring the area, Kono will travel to Sweden to hold talks with his Swedish and European Union counterparts.

In Russia, Kono is to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to pave the way for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's visit to Russia, which is expected to take place next month.

Mori's visit is aimed at boosting the stalled bilateral peace treaty negotiations.

Doi heads for China

Social Democratic Party leader Takako Doi departed Tokyo Monday for a weeklong visit to China to push her party's proposal that Northeast Asia be a nuclear-free zone.

Doi is scheduled to meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin today and other Chinese leaders during the course of her stay, SDP officials said.

They added that she will return on Jan. 14.

Doi visited South Korea in August and Mongolia in September to discuss the nuclear-free-zone initiative.