Bush to Japanese visitor: Here's the beef

by Mark Silva

Japan will play host to the annual summit of the leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations next year – at scenic Lake Toya – but today, President Bush played host to the recently installed Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda.

President Bush isn’t talking about Elvis Presley any more – the way he did with former Prime Minister Koizumi, an Elvis fan who toured Graceland with Bush. That was two prime ministers and one political upheaval ago – just months ago Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had been meeting with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who visited Camp David in April. Cheney had visited Abe in Tokyo in February. But Abe, facing political losses for his party, scandal within his government and a 30-percent approval rating, resigned in September.

But they did talk about beef.

“I hope we serve him some good U.S. beef, which is a good way to bring up the subject of beef,’’ Bush said today, standing alongside Fukuda in the Cross Hall of the White House. "We hope we're able to have the Japanese market fully open to all U.S. beef and beef products, consistent with international guidelines.’’

So for lunch at the White House, the president’s visitor got Kobe Beef short ribs, lobster puree, leeks, roasted turnips and micro celery, an ice lettuce salad, cucumber slaw, goat cheese and cracked pepper and a mango sorbet.

Abe’s successor and Bush also are renewing promises that Japan and the United States have made to one another for some time now.

“We'll continue to work together to advance freedom, security and prosperity in our respective regions and beyond,’’ Bush said, making joint statements with Fukuda but fielding no questions. “We discussed a lot of ways that we can make the world a better place by working together.''

“We discussed North Korea and the six-party talks,’’ Bush said of the long-running negotiations with North Korea. “The six-party talks have delivered measurable results. The plutonium production facilities at Yongbyon are now being disabled, under six-party supervision.

“We also discussed the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea,’’ Bush said. “I reminded the Prime Minister of one of the most moving moments of my presidency, when the mother of a young girl who had been abducted by the North Koreans came to visit me. I told her, and I'm going to tell the Japanese people once again, we will not forget this issue.

“We discussed Afghanistan and Iraq,’’ he said. “Japanese naval forces have made valued contributions to Operation Enduring Freedom, which supports Afghanistan's young democracy. Over six years, Japanese vessels refueled ships from 11 coalition nations nearly 800 times.

“We discussed the realignment of our military forces, and we'll continue to do so with Secretary Gates over lunch,’’ Bush said. “Our two nations continue to implement changes in our force posture that will help our alliance meet the challenges of the 21st century.

“We discussed Iran. The Prime Minister and I agree that a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten the security of the Middle East and beyond. Our two nations are united in our efforts to change the regime's behavior through diplomacy. We agreed that unless Iran commits to suspend enrichment, international pressure must, and will, grow.

“We discussed Burma. The Prime Minister and I condemned the regime's crackdown on democratic activists. We call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners. We're for a genuine dialogue between the regime and those who seek a democratic future for Burma. U.S. sanctions on the regime are in place. Japan has canceled an aid grant. The Prime Minister told me his government is reviewing other aid projects to ensure that they directly benefit the people of Burma.

“We discussed climate change and energy security. Our two nations share a similar approach to addressing the issues of climate change and energy security. We see real promise in our ongoing efforts to bring major developed and developing economies together around key elements of a future global agreement on climate change and energy security.’’

Fukuda, speaking through a translator, said: “First of all, we agreed that Japan-U.S. alliance is playing an indispensable role in enabling Japan and the United States to address global issues together, and also provides the basis for our active diplomacy vis-a-vis Asia.

“For over half a century Japan and the United States at times have overcome difficulties together and have built a solid and resilient alliance,’’ he said. ”And we today enjoy this relationship, thanks to the efforts made by countless people in our two countries and exchanges among them.

“We discussed synergies between our respective Asia policies and Japan-U.S. alliance,’’ he said. “I explained to the President that the solid Japan-U.S. alliance will provide the foundation for Asia's peace and prosperity.

“We also discussed issues that Japan and U.S. need to address jointly, and particularly -- in particular, North Korea and the fight against terrorism. With regard to North Korean nuclear programs, we agreed that Japan and U.S. need to maintain close coordination with each other, in order to achieve complete abandonment of all nuclear weapons and programs by North Korea, through the six-party talks.

“President Bush stated that he will never forget the abduction issue, and on that basis he once again expressed his commitment for unchanged support to the Japanese government.

“We should never allow Afghanistan to once again become a hotbed for terrorism,’’ Fukuda said. “And we agreed that Japan and the United States should continue to work together with the international community in the fight against terrorism. And I communicated to President Bush that I shall do my level best to achieve an early passage of a bill for the early resumption of the refuel act… in the Indian Ocean by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.

“With regard to Myanmar,’’ Fukuda said, “I stated that I have been working on the government of Myanmar for democratization and improvement of the human rights situation.

“And with regard to Iranian nuclear development, we cannot -- never tolerate and we agreed that we shall together work to raise pressure with the international community so that Iran will comply with the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,’’ he said. “And in this age of rapid changes, on the basis of Japan-U.S. alliance, Japan intends to exercise more active leadership in addressing the problems of Asia and international community.’’