Arroyo threat to cancel Tokyo trip
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday threatened to cancel a two-day visit to Tokyo next week if Japan's ambassador did not apologise for calling the Philippines a dangerous place.
With surprising candour, ambassador Kujiro Takano on Thursday told a group of foreign correspondents: 'I've a hard time sleeping at night in the Philippines because I'm always worried' for the safety of Japanese nationals and tourists who are in 'constant danger'.
'Many Japanese get the impression that the peace and order situation in the Philippines is very bad,' he said.
He then spoke of the Philippine government's confusing investment policies and inability to fully use Japanese official development aid due to its failure to provide backup support and funding.
Japan is the Philippines' biggest aid donor and second biggest investor and trade partner after the United States.
Mrs Arroyo dismissed Mr Takano's remarks as exaggerated and demanded that he apologise.
Her spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, yesterday said: 'His lack of sleep probably caused him to be disoriented.'
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Manuel Villar said that if Mr Takano 'can't sleep, he should either take sleeping pills or go back to Japan'.
United States ambassador Francis Ricciardone disagreed with Mr Takano, saying Manila was safe and that the economic climate in the country was good. Last year, however, Mr Ricciardone came under fire for saying that 'corruption is a real problem for Americans in the Philippines'.
There was no public outcry from Mrs Arroyo at the time.
