Thaksin Takes the Tokyo Stage
By Cheng Herng Shinn and James Hookway Thailand's former leader Thaksin Shinawatra kicked off his hyped visit to Japan Monday by visiting financial services minister Shozaburo Jimi to discuss the economic aftershocks from the March 11 tsunami and trade ties between Bangkok and Tokyo. Thai politics, though, might already be part of Mr. Thaksin's closely-watched visit. Mr. Jimi is second-in-command at the People's New Party, one of the coalition partners of Japan's current administration and a useful new ally for Mr. Thaksin as he thrusts himself back into the international spotlight following the July election victory of his youngest sister, newly-minted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. In the coming days, Mr. Thaksin will also meet with members of coalition-leading Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, according to the Asahi Shimbun. Tuesday, he has a full day planned in the limelight. The former prime minister has a press conference at the Imperial Hotel at 10 a.m., a speech and Q&A to Japan’s foreign correspondents’ club at noon, and yet another speech <a href="http://www.monclerjacketscoats2011.com/moncler-kids-c-4.html"><strong>kids moncler coats</strong></a> about Japan, China, and Southeast Asia at 6 p.m. He then zips off to visit tsunami-ravaged regions of northern Japan. It's a something of a change of pace for Mr. Thaksin, 62 years old. Since being ousted by military coup in Bangkok in five years ago, the former telecom magnate has traveled from country to country to avoid imprisonment on a corruption conviction. He says the charges were drummed up to prevent a political comeback, and he now travels on a Montenegro passport and makes his home in Dubai. When Mr. Thaksin did try to make a splash overseas, the impact was relatively subdued. When he visited former South African leader Nelson Mandela last year, many Thai newspapers were unsure whether the meeting actually occurred. (It did). But what a difference an election makes. Since Ms. Yingluck, 44, romped home in a landslide as top candidate of the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai, or For Thais, Party, Mr. Thaksin has returned to the center of debate in Thailand. Ms. Yingluck campaigned on a platform of populist policies and a pledge to bring Mr. Thaksin back to a country where he still wildly popular among many of its 65 million people but remains a figure of fear to Thailand's military-backed establishment. Now, with this visit to Japan, Ms. Yingluck's government is facing growing criticism from its political opponents that it is bending over too far to serve Mr. Thaksin's interests. Japan had to issue a special visit permit to Mr. Thaksin because of his corruption conviction, <a href="http://www.cheapestghdstraighteners2011.com/ghd-2010-new-blue-serenity-p-5726.html"><strong>ghd for hair</strong></a> and says it provided the visa after a request from the new Thai government. That was enough to persuade Ms. Yingluck's opponents to start pushing an impeachment complaint against Thailand's new foreign minister, who also happens to be another distant Thaksin relative. Still, the bonds between Thailand and Japan run deep. Japan is the top foreign investor in the Southeast Asian nation. Japan also provided extensive support when Thailand was hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed over 5,000 people in Thailand and over 230,000 people across the region. When the March 11 tsunami hit Japan, many Thais donated money to reciprocate. According to Mr. Jimi, Mr. Thaksin, too, will make a "token" donation to Japan. "When he says a ‘token' amount, I don't think the amount will exactly be ‘token'. I think he was being humble," Mr. Jimi said. Mr. Thaksin might have something more to offer, too. He was Thailand's prime minister when the 2004 tsunami crashed into some of the country's leading tourist beaches and his government helped rehabilitate the area. Read this post in Japanese/日本語訳はこちら≫
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