Eye on UNSC, Japan Premier heads for India

Junichiro Koizumi today headed for India to drum up support from a fellow candidate for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council amid a bitter rift between Tokyo and Beijing.

Koizumi will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before going on to Pakistan, followed by stops in Luxembourg and The Netherlands. ‘‘India has huge potential for development. From this standpoint, I would like to expand bilateral exchanges,’’ Koizumi told reporters before leaving Tokyo.

China said it hoped that Koizumi’s visit to India will contribute to regional peace, stability and development.