Japanese senators to make official visit ot Panama

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Friday August 25, 2006

Panama City- A group of senators from the House of Councillors in Japan's Diet are expected in Panama on Saturday, where they will visit the Panama Canal that is heavily used by Japanese ships, Panama's foreign ministry said Friday. The group, to be headed by Toranosuke Katayama, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, is to meet with Panama's first vice president and foreign minister, Samuel Lewis Navarro, and National Assembly deputies.

The delegation is to visit the Panama Canal sluices at Miraflores, where they will be briefed on plans to extend the interoceanic route. Those plans will be put to a referendum in Panama on October 22.

Japan is one of the main users of the Panama Canal. During the 1990s, Japan participated in technical exploration of a third line of sluices on the aquatic route to accomodate larger ships.

An estimated 70 per cent of the Japanese commercial fleet hoists Panama flags to signal their heavy usage of the route.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur