Japan PM Koizumi to get warm embrace in Washington

Tokyo, June 27: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today left for a trip to Canada and the United States, where he can expect a warm diplomatic embrace from close friend and ally President George W Bush.

Tensions over a possible missile launch by North Korea will likely top the list of issues to be discussed by the leaders of the world's two biggest economies.

But symbol will be as important as substance at what will almost certainly be PM Koizumi's last official visit to the United States before he steps down as prime minister in September.

''This is going to be a great summit from the standpoint of two friends who share common values and common goals,'' US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said recently.

Besides red carpet treatment and a 19-gun salute in Washington, Mr Koizumi -- an avid Elvis Presley fan -- will be escorted by President Bush to Graceland, the Memphis, Tennessee, home of the rock and roll legend.

''It will be a lot of fun as well as a substantive opportunity to talk about the legacy of their friendship,'' Mr Schieffer said.

Mr Bush and Mr Koizumi have played catch at Camp David and dined on beef at the president's Texas ranch, and they share a love of the classic Western movie ''High Noon''.

Equally important, PM Koizumi has hitched his security policies to those of the US leader, sending non-combat troops to Iraq despite opposition from domestic voters, and strengthening already-tight military ties.

Mr Koizumi announced last week that Japan would withdraw its soldiers from southern Iraq as Iraqi forces take responsibility for the province where the Japanese troops are based.

Unspoken Dilemma

The diplomatic decks have been cleared of contentious issues after Japan agreed last week to resume US beef imports, which have been suspended for five months due to concerns about mad cow disease. ''I believe this is going to be my last summit meeting with President Bush,'' PM Koizumi told reporters shortly before leaving on a North American tour.

''I want to have a meeting where we can ensure closer bilateral cooperation to deal with various international issues.'' The two leaders are likely to discuss policies towards China, but what is left unsaid may be as important as the spoken words.

Some US experts are growing anxious about the deep chill in ties with China and South Korea that emerged after Mr Koizumi took office in 2001 and began making annual visits to the Yasukuni shrine, seen by Beijing and Seoul as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

President Bush seems unlikely to broach that topic directly.

''The president takes the view that Japan and China have got to reconcile their differences, and it is not particularly helpful for foreigners to tell them how to do it,'' Mr Schieffer said.

Sino-Japanese relations have emerged as a focal point in the race to succeed Mr Koizumi in a September election for ruling party president, a position that virtually ensures the premiership.

Front-runner Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has backed Koizumi's visits to the Shinto shrine, where convicted war criminals are honoured along with the nation's 2.5 million war dead, but he has declined to say if he would go himself if elected prime minister.

Veteran lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda, Abe's main -- if undeclared -- rival, has criticised Koizumi's Asian diplomacy and called for a new, secular memorial where Japan can honour its war dead without offending its Asian neighbours.

PM Koizumi meets Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa tomorrow before going to Washington for the summit with Mr Bush on Thursday. The two travel to Graceland on Friday.

Reuters