SHIMUKAPPU (Japan) - JAPANESE Premier Taro Aso welcomed the leaders of a clutch of small Pacific islands Friday for a meeting expected to generate fresh aid for clean energy and coping with climate change.

Aso was also expected to provide details of increased aid for 'human security' projects in the region, including the provision of water-related assistance, at the fifth Pacific Leaders Meeting in northern Japan.

'As a partner with Pacific island countries and sharing the Pacific Ocean we will do as much as we can to help Pacific islands try to overcome their challenges,' Aso told visiting leaders at the two-day summit.

Japan wants to share its technology and know-how, he said.

Tokyo will announce fresh development assistance for the islands that 'could be more' than its pledge of 45 billion yen (S$691 million) at the last such meeting three years ago, a Japanese foreign ministry official said.

It is the latest windfall for the isolated states as major powers try to win their hearts and minds - and their votes in international forums.

While small in size, the islands hold 12 critical votes at the United Nations, where Japan is seeking a permanent Security Council seat, a goal strongly opposed by China, which is also wooing the Pacific.

Leaders or officials from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu were attending.

Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama - who overthrew the elected government in a 2006 coup - was not invited. -- AFP