Japan's PM leaves for Mongolia on nature resources

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday left for Mongolia in a move to strengthen ties and cooperation with the resource-rich developing country.

It is the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to Mongolia in nearly seven years as Japan needs more coal and other fuel resources to meet its short on power due to nuclear plants suspension after catastrophic nuclear disaster triggered by tsunami in March 2011.

During the two-day visit, Abe is expected to meet with Mongolian president and other government officials on bilateral cooperation on politics, security, economy, and personnel exchanges.

Abe will also seek to encourage Japanese companies to invest in Mongolia, especially in the development of Tavan Tolgoi, one of the world's largest coal deposits.

Japan, on other hand, will provide assistance to Mongolia to help relieve air pollution in the country and its infrastructure construction, according to reports.

Following China, Russia and the United States, Japan was the forth largest trading partner of Mongolia in 2012, while the North Asian country was ranked 102nd for Japan, said Japan's Kyodo News Agency.