[Japanese PM] Noda in Cambodia for ASEAN, Obama talks

                       Mr. Noda and his wife arrived in Cambodia
The Jiji-Daily Yomiuri

PHNOM PENH (Nov. 19, 2012)--Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (pictured) arrived at Cambodia on Sunday for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Phnom Penh.

Noda was accompanied by his wife Hitomi as he boarded a government jet in Tokyo.

The prime minister will meet with Obama in the Cambodian capital on Tuesday for his first talks with Obama since the president's reelection.

Noda will express his support for moving ahead with Japan's preparations for participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, according to close aides of the prime minister.

Prior to his departure, Noda told reporters in front of his official residence, "I would like to have talks [with Obama] conducive to paving the way for deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance, [on issues] including national security and economic, cultural and personnel exchanges."

Also on the agenda for the Noda-Obama talks will be the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region, which the aides said has been drastically changing because of China's increasingly aggressive maritime activities.

The prime minister is scheduled to have a series of meetings with ASEAN member countries' leaders and the heads of the East Asia Summit forum, which comprises eight nations including the United States, China and South Korea in addition to the 10 member states of ASEAN.

During his three days in Phnom Penh, Noda will also have separate talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, according to the aides.

Because of the current issues Japan is facing over sovereignty of Okinawa Prefecture's Senkaku Islands and Shimane Prefecture's Takeshima islands, also claimed by China and South Korea, respectively, Noda has no plans to meet separately with either Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao or South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, both of whom will also attend the ASEAN-related talks, the aides said.

Similarly, there will be no summit talks this year between Japan, China and South Korea. Such talks are normally held annually on the occasion of the ASEAN summit, according to the aides.