Opening his first state visit to Japan, US President George W. Bush brought Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi a double-edged message -- appreciation for this island nation's anti-terrorism solidarity and growing apprehension about its deteriorating economy.
The president and first lady Laura Bush arrived in Tokyo last night, greeted at Haneda airport by US Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker. Bush waved but made no comments after stepping off the plane.
The two leaders meet today for three hours at Iikura House, a government conference center, where White House aides expected the talks to focus on global implications of Japan's worsening economic slump.
Bush's visit is a balancing act of public expressions of confidence in Koizumi's economic reform plan, on the one hand, and private prodding of Koizumi to deliver quickly on the changes he has promised. "We're obviously concerned about our friend's economy," Bush said in advance of today's meetings.
At a refueling stop in Alaska, Bush told US military personnel that he was eager not only to thank Japan and other partners in his anti-terror campaign, but also to emphasize his resolve not to rest "until we have destroyed terrorism."
A much pricklier topic is Japan's economy, the world's second largest, whose problems run deep -- years of recession, billions of dollars in bad government and private loans, a falling stock market and record levels of corporate bankruptcy and unemployment. Bush is anxious to keep these troubles from spilling over into the already anemic global economy and potentially deepening America's own recession.
"The message is very clear that the United States expects more aggressive economic restructuring. And it is blunt: don't let your trouble spread across the region or the world; get it straight right now," said Naoko Munakata, a former official in Japan's Ministry of Economy.
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