BANGKOK, 15 August 2011 – Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to arrive in Japan this 22 August to speak at a seminar and also visit areas hit by the twin disasters in March, according to his legal advisor Noppadon Pattama.
After the Japanese government agreed to issue a special entry permit for Mr Thaksin, Mr Noppadon revealed that the former Thai premier would pay a visit to the country on 22 August. He said during the visit Mr Thaksin would join a seminar as a guest speaker under a topic concerning democracy in Thailand and the country’s role in the global economy and meet with about 150 foreign businesspeople and media members.
On 25-26 August, upon an invitation by the Japan-China-ASEAN Institute of Economy, Mr Thaksin will also travel to areas which were devastated by the deadly earthquake and tsunami in March in order to follow up the rehabilitation effort. Mr Noppadon claimed that Mr Thaksin’s activity in Japan was not related to the Pheu Thai Party’s role as the ruler of the current government or Ms Yingluck Shinawatra’s title as Prime Minister. He insisted that the ex-premier had been invited on the trip since June, which was before Pheu Thai won the election.
Regarding a report that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was considering returning Mr Thaksin his Thai diplomatic passport, Mr Noppadon said the former Prime Minister had the right to get it back even though he had been using his Montenegrin passport without any problems.
With the change of the Thai government, some countries like Germany and Japan have revoked their bans on Mr Thaksin’s entry. Mr Noppadon remarked that such a decision was up to each country’s consideration.
