Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Saturday put off a planned visit to Australia in response to a similar decision by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Aso was initially scheduled to meet with Rice and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer starting Tuesday for their first trilateral dialogue on security issues.
The U.S. State Department announced Friday the cancellation of Rice's trip to Indonesia and Australia, scheduled to begin Saturday, underlining the serious U.S. concern about the condition of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The Australian government also told Japan on Saturday morning that it wanted to postpone the trilateral ministerial dialogue.
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