Japan's ruling party heavyweight to attend China's New Silk Road summit

Tokyo

THE secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said on Tuesday he will attend China's New Silk Road summit next month, a sign Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to improve ties with Beijing amid tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes.

But an adviser to Mr Abe said Tokyo remained cautious about the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), created at least in part as a way to fund the Silk Road plan.