WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Japan to host next year's APEC meeting in Yokohama
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-25 22:43

TOKYO - Japan will host next year's leaders meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Yokohama, Prime Minister Taro Aso announced Wednesday.

It will be the second time that Japan hosts the APEC leaders meeting. The first one was in Osaka in 1995.

Four other Japanese cities -- Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara and Sapporo -- had been bidding to host the annual leaders meeting. The government has picked Yokohama as the venue given its accommodation capacity, transportation and security advantages, according to government sources.

APEC has 21 member economies including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

This year's APEC leaders meeting will be held in November in Singapore.