BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Japan to join the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member, Japanese government sources.
The sources said Merkel made the request during a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on April 1.
Abe explained Tokyo’s concerns over the new international body’s structure and sustainability of its lending, the sources said. China aims to provide up to 50 percent of the bank’s financial resources.
A total of 57 nations will serve as founding members. Among them are Germany, Britain, France and Italy, Japan’s European Group of Seven peers.
Along with Japan, the United States refrained from taking part in the development bank, arguing its management structure and lending screening system are opaque.
The Japanese government has not previously disclosed that Abe talked with Merkel over the phone.
