Japan's Koizumi surfaces in Bush campaign speech

WACO, Texas, Nov 6 (Reuters) Even though he is no longer Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi still plays a central role in U S President George W Bush's campaign speeches.

At a rally before tomorrow's congressional elections, Bush invokes Koizumi, who stepped down in September, as an example of how relationships between countries can change over time and his hopes for the same in the West Asia.

From Nevada to Nebraska, he tells of how he took Koizumi, an avid Elvis Presley fan, to the entertainer's Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee, to show how close the two leaders were.

Crowds respond positively as Bush seeks to compare the friendship that has developed between the United States and Japan after World War Two with what is possible if Iraq can become a beacon of democracy in the West Asia.

''Japan was the sworn enemy of the United States. I'm now on the airplane, Air Force One, flying down to Elvis' place, and I was talking about keeping the peace with the prime minister of Japan,'' Bush says in his stump speech.

''Someday, American presidents will be sitting down with duly elected leaders in the West Asia talking about keeping the peace, and a generation of Americans will be better off for it,'' he says.

Bush has been pushing a policy of spreading democracy in the West Asia and insists that U S forces must stay until the Iraqi government can take care of security.

The unpopular Iraq war has weighed on Republicans fighting to keep control of Congress.

Bush has yet to mention Japan's new leader, Shinzo Abe.

Reuters AKJ DB2138