Japanese PM holds talks with Tony Blair

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

British Prime Minister Tony Blair

LONDON (AFP) ­ Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held three hours of talks focused on Iraq and the Middle East late Saturday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Downing Street said.

Koizumi, on a week-long European tour of Britain, Spain, France, Germany and Greece, met Blair over dinner at Downing Street for talks described as "very warm and friendly" by
the British premier's spokesman.

The two leaders discussed "a range of international issues, including Iraq, the Middle East and a number of bilateral issues," the spokesman said, without giving further detail.

Koizumi was expected to hold a press conference on Sunday morning before leaving Britain.
During his European tour, the Japanese Prime Minister also plans to hold talks with French President Jacques Chirac to discuss how to help with the post-war reconstruction of Iraq.

Koizumi is also expected to urge the leaders of the five countries to seek unity within the international community - bitterly split over the US-led war on Saddam Hussein's regime - in efforts to help rehabilitate Iraq, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi was starting a tour of the Middle East to discuss post-war Iraqi reconstruction as well as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Kawaguchi was to vist Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Syria, a Japanese embassy spokesman told AFP.

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