Japan: Prime Minister Aso pledges $17 bln in aid for Asia region

Prime Minister Taro Aso announced Japan would pledge over $17 billion in aid to help Asian countries cope with the global financial crisis in an address Saturday at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This move is a break from former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi’s vow in 2006 to cut back on Japanese foreign aid between two and four percent each year. In September of last year Aso offered to donate $100 billion to the International Monetary Fund to assist with the financial crisis.

Source: Kyodo News Agency