Japan: Prime minister and US president discuss Asian currency crisis

Text of report by the Japanese news agency Kyodo

Tokyo, 13th January: Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and US President Bill Clinton agreed Tuesday that Japan and the United States will keep in close touch to deal with the financial and currency crisis in southeast Asia, including Indonesia.

Clinton and Hashimoto discussed the crisis during a 20-minute telephone talk Tuesday morning, Japanese officials said.

Hashimoto told Clinton that he had urged Indonesian President Suharto to take the initiative for promoting structural reforms of Indonesia's economy while abiding by the agreement between the Indonesian government and the International Monetary Fund, they said.

Hashimoto spoke with Suharto by telephone Monday [12th January]. Clinton said he also had made a similar request to Suharto over the phone, according to the officials.

Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0403 gmt 13 Jan 98

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