Japan’s prime minister has begun posting English-language messages on the video-sharing Web site YouTube in an obvious bid to raise his country’s worldly profile.

In his online New Year’s info for 2008, Fukuda speaks in English about the challenges facing the world in the coming year and promises to play a leading role in finding solutions.

“Of these challenges, those that concern the environment seriously affect all who live on that earth. Japan’s mission is to play a major

role in that area,” Fukuda says in the video set against a backdrop of leather-bound books at his official residence.

“We will contribute to creating a world where folks can live peacefully,” he says in the five-minute clip — rarely smiling, in line with his dour image.

As of Wednesday dawn, the English video clip had been viewed 385 times, while a Japanese-language version had been viewed 1,465 times. Neither had yet […]

Orginal post by Top Tech News