by Chinese media writer Zhao Yi
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Chinese media) -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday became the first foreign leader to visit the White House since President Barack Obama took office on Jan. 20. The summit meeting was seen as "extraordinarily important" for Washington-Tokyo
relations.
IMPORTANT ALLIANCE
"Obviously, the friendship between the United States
and Japan is extraordinarily important to our country. It is for that reason
that the prime minister (of Japan) is the first foreign dignitary to visit me
here in the Oval Office," Obama said in his remarks about the meeting with Aso.
"The alliance that we have is the cornerstone of
security in East Asia, it is one that my administration wants to strengthen,"
Obama said.
Speaking highly of Japan's leading role in issues
ranging from climate change to Afghanistan, Obama said, "We think that we have
an opportunity to work together, not only on issues related to the Pacific Rim,
but throughout the world."
Obama's latest comments about U.S.-Japan relations
are not new to Aso as during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to
Japan just a week ago, she had said "the alliance between the United States and
Japan is a cornerstone of our foreign policy."
Although details of the Obama-Aso talks are yet to be
announced, it is believed that the two leaders focused their discussion on a
range of thorny issues, including the global economic crisis, global warming,
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and reconstruction efforts in
Afghanistan.
BEYOND AN HONOR FOR JAPAN
"We are very honored to be here as the first foreign
guest," Aso said during the meeting. Since Obama won the presidential elections
in November 2008, Japan has been seeking reassurance from the new U.S.
administration about its position as the top U.S. ally in Asia.
A traditional U.S. ally, Japan is the world's second
largest economy, the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, and hosts
about 50,000 U.S. military personnel.
From the U.S. point of view, as a member of six-party
talks on the settlement of nuclear issues on the Korean peninsula, Japan also
holds important leverage to pressure the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK).
Moreover, the fact that Hillary Clinton chose Tokyo
as the first stop on her first overseas trip as Secretary of State, has in a way
made Japan's leaders and politicians confident about being in a strong position
to keep up close relations with Washington.
However, analysts noted that the latest U.S.-Japan
high-level consultations and the so-called cornerstone alliance do not cover the
serious political crisis in Japan, where Aso has become one of the country's
most unpopular post-war leaders.
Aso, who took office in September, has seen his
popularity erode amid a worsening recession, topped by last week's resignation
of Finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa after appearing to be drunk at a G7 news
conference in Rome.
According to the latest nationwide poll conducted by
leading Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, 71 percent of respondents want Aso to
resign as soon as possible.
Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun's survey also
showed that Aso's support rate dropped 8 percentage points from the previous
January poll to 11 percent. The survey also found 39 percent of people believe
Aso should step down immediately, with the disapproval rate for the the prime
minister's cabinet hitting 73 percent.
The less than 24-hour visit to Washington might in a
way help Aso boost his mass support rate. But what is more important is that the
trip has witnessed and identified a special connection between the United States
and Japan.
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