This week, the prime minister wrapped up a trip to Turkey, where he extolled Japan's central role in a 10-year project to build a rail tunnel that for the first time links by rail the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. The project was led by the Taisei construction company with $1.5 billion in loans from Japan.
The prime minister has made his goal clear: He wants to push Japan's U.S.- and European-centric businesses into the largely untapped markets of Myanmar, India and East Africa.
"In the first 10 months of office, I have visited 23 countries and held more than 110 meetings with other world leaders," Mr. Abe said in a policy address before parliament last month.
