Bush hosting Japanese Prime Minister Abe

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - President Bush is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to a two-day visit as both leaders deal with low popularity at home and some creeping tension in the usually strong U.S.-Japan alliance.

During meetings that mark Abe's first U.S. trip as prime minister, he and Bush will look to publicly convey the health of a crucial alliance that has gained importance as rival China accumulates economic and military power.

Bush and his wife, Laura, will have Abe and his wife to an informal dinner Thursday evening in the private quarters of the White House and on Friday Bush and Abe will meet at the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat and hold a joint news conference.

The trip by Abe (pronounced ah-bay) will not match the farewell U.S. visit of his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. Bush and Koizumi played up their friendship, and Koizumi was treated to a presidential tour of Elvis Presley's Graceland home in Memphis, Tenn.

But Abe and Bush will be eager to build their own personal ties.

Both men, analysts say, also will be seeking respite from the criticism that has followed them of late. Abe's support rating has plunged, with voters angry over scandals involving members of his Cabinet and other issues. Bush faces an opposition-controlled Congress incensed over his handling of the war in Iraq.

Overall, the national relationship is strong. Japan is the largest financial contributor after the United States for the rebuilding effort in Iraq. Japan hosts thousands of U.S. troops. And the countries are partners in international efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.

But friction exists. Japanese conservatives have expressed alarm at what some see as a "soft" U.S. stance on the North Korean nuclear talks. U.S. ranchers and lawmakers are demanding that Japan fully resume U.S. beef imports. And many in the United States were angered by Abe's recent comments that appeared to minimize Japan's role in the sexual enslavement of thousands of Asian women during World War II.

Analysts say the goal, from Abe's perspective, will be to avoid any perception of strain.

"Every Japanese prime minister wants to have, and moreover wants to have the appearance of having, a close relationship with whoever is in the White House," said Robert Hathaway, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Asia Program.

One potential hurdle is a congressional resolution under consideration that urges Japan to apologize formally for forcing thousands of women to work as sex slaves, or "comfort women," for members of the Imperial Japanese forces in the 1930s and 1940s.

Lawmakers will not consider the resolution until after Abe leaves, but the issue could come up when Abe meets with congressional leaders Thursday or during a news conference Friday.

People across Asia and the United States, including conservative supporters of Japan in Congress, were infuriated at Abe's suggestion in March that no proof existed that the military had coerced women into brothels. It seemed to some that Abe was backtracking on a 1993 government apology.

Amnesty International and other rights groups are urging Bush to raise the issue with Abe. U.S. officials say, however, that Abe's recent public statements supporting the earlier apology have been convincing and that the president is unlikely to bring up the matter.

Democratic Rep. Mike Honda, a sponsor of the resolution, said in an interview that "the prime minister has said everything but the full apology we're looking for."

China, and its huge surge in military spending, also will loom large in discussions. "For the Japanese, that has to be a concern — this rapid increase in Chinese defense spending," Dennis Wilder, a White House Asia adviser, told reporters Wednesday.

Abe and Bush are not strangers. They got to know each other when Abe served as a senior deputy to Koizumi and, after Abe became prime minister, during recent international economic meetings in Vietnam.

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On the Net:

CIA World Factbook on Japan: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications...k/geos/ja.html

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070426/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_japan [link]