New Japanese leader visits White House

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Elvis is out. Baseball is in. President Bush, who had a notably cozy relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, is trying to get closer to his successor, Shinzo Abe. Bush will host Abe on Thursday at the White House and on Friday at Camp David.

Their personal ties are important politically. Japan is a large financial contributor to the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a vital trading partner, and an ally in pressuring North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.

"We see Japan as our greatest strategic partner in East Asia, and an increasingly indispensable global partner," Dennis Wilder, the National Security Council's director for Asian Affairs, said Wednesday in previewing Abe's visit.

Abe is following a tough act.

Bush hit it off easily with Koizumi, a huge Elvis Presley fan. The Bushes hosted a formal dinner for Koizumi last June, and the next day, Bush took him on a rollicking visit to Presley's Graceland mansion in Tennessee.

Abe has his own connection to Bush, Wilder said. "One thing they do share is a love of baseball, and a great deal of interest in Japan's most significant export to the United States in the last year," he said.

He was referring to Daisuke Matsuzaka, known as Dice-K. A pitching star in Japan, Matsuzaka was signed this year by the Boston Red Sox and has become a media fascination.

Abe's visit comes weeks after he set off a furor by saying there was no evidence that Japan's army forced "comfort women" to work in military brothels during World War II. Historians estimate up to 200,000 women, mostly Chinese and Korean, were forced into prostitution by Japanese soldiers. Abe has tried to quell the backlash by apologizing.

Bush believes Abe has done a lot to clear up "the misunderstandings" on the issue, Wilder said.

Abe's stop also comes just as, for the first time, Toyota sold more vehicles globally in a quarter than General Motors. The White House expressed little public concern, saying the playing field is fair and consumers benefit by open markets.

Abe and his wife, Akie, will arrive in Washington on Thursday and stay at the Blair House, across from the White House.

He will meet congressional leaders, pay respects at Arlington National Ceremony and visit injured troops at Bethesda Naval Hospital while his wife visits Mount Vernon in Virginia with first lady Laura Bush.

At night, the Bushes and Abes will have an informal dinner in the private quarters of the White House. On Friday, President Bush and Abe will meet at the Camp David, Md., mountaintop retreat and hold a joint news conference.

There will be no formal dinner for Abe because the couples are getting to know each other and don't want to be constrained by a state event, Wilder said.

Abe took office last September. He met Bush last November during the APEC summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The president and the prime minister have a huge list of topics to cover. Among them: The Iraq war, the Middle East peace process, defense cooperation, environmental and energy concerns, bilateral and global trade, and North Korea.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070425/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_japan [link]