Japanese Prime Minister visits World War II battlefield in PNG

SYDNEY - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a World War II battlefield in Papua New Guinea on Friday as his state visit to the Pacific nation enters the second day.

This Second World War battlefield is in Wewak, the capital of East Sepik Province, where 200,000 Japanese soldiers died during the war.

Abe arrived in Papua New Guinea on Thursday with a 150-member business delegation. This is the first time in almost 30 years that a Japanese Prime Minister has come to the island country.

Abe met his Papua New Guinea counterpart Peter O'Neill in the capital of Port Moresby on Thursday in order to boost the bilateral trade and secure stable supplies of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) from Papua New Guinea.

In June, the first cargo of LNG exported from Papua New Guinea arrived in Tokyo, making the country an important supplier to energy-hungry Japan.

Meanwhile, Abe pledged a 20-billion-yen-aid (about 1.9 billion US dollars) to Papua New Guinea over three years.

Papua New Guinea is the last leg of Abe's three-nation tour, which includes visits to New Zealand and Australia. He will return to Japan on Saturday.