Japan set for Obuchi funeral

The funeral will be at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan hall

By BBC Tokyo correspondent Charles Scanlon

Leaders from around the world are in Tokyo for the official funeral on Thursday of the late prime minister Keizo Obuchi, who died of a stroke last month.

The guest list is led by President Clinton, but presidents and prime ministers from a number of Asian countries are also due to attend.

Keizo Obuchi was known for his common touch

There's much speculation in Japan that the high-profile guests will give a much-needed boost to the ailing government coalition in the run-up to general elections at the end of the month.

President Clinton's decision to visit Japan for the funeral has been well-received by the government.

He will only be in Japan for about eight hours, but the visit is seen as an affirmation of the close alliance between the two countries.

Election

The Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori, will hold bilateral meetings with President Clinton and some of the other leaders.

Mr Mori [R] greets Chinese vice premier Qian Qichen

Analysts say he will be hoping a display of statesmanship just before this month's general election will help boost his standing with Japanese voters.

But it may be too late for Mr Mori to rebuild his image before the election.

His approval rating has sunk below 20% in recent days, partly because of a series of comments that brought back memories of Japan's discredited pre-war political system.

Korea

Diplomatic discussions are likely to be dominated more by events in neighbouring Korea than Japan.

Mourners pay tribute before the cremation last month

President Clinton will have talks with the South Korean President, Kim Dae-jung, who is due to hold a historic first meeting with his North Korean counterpart next week.

The Americans have given their backing to President Kim, although they're anxious he doesn't give too much away to the North Koreans without first getting some concessions from them over their development of weapons of mass destruction.