US President Barack Obama was to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House yesterday, hoping to hammer out a bumper Pacific trade deal and cement an alliance given new relevance by China’s rise.
Obama was to hold Oval Office talks with Abe and offer a welcome reserved for royalty or heads of state, including a full arrival ceremony on the South Lawn and a luxurious state dinner.
On Monday, Obama took Abe on an unannounced tour of the Lincoln Memorial, riding together in Obama’s armored limousine “the beast” to underscore their personal ties.
Photo: AFP
The White House is keen to capitalize on Abe’s desire to put Japan back at the center of power in Asia, as China flexes its political and economic muscle.
In the Oval Office, Obama and Abe were to discuss trade and were expected to hail progress toward a Trans-Pacific Partnership that brings together 12 nations — including Japan and the US.
“If we don’t write the rules, China will write the rules out in that region,” Obama told the Wall Street Journal ahead of the meeting.
Both Tokyo and the White House had hoped that Obama would have authority from the US Congress to clinch a deal before Abe’s visit, allowing a more definitive announcement, but political wrangling on Capitol Hill means that may not come before next month.
Japan sees the authority as a prerequisite to conclude talks.
Trade negotiators are still working on tough issues linked to automobiles and agriculture, but with Obama looking for a bipartisan trade victory and Abe keen to bolster his domestic economic reforms, an eventual deal seems likely.
During his meeting with Abe, Obama was also to seek to encourage the emergence of a more assertive Japan, which could prove a potent counterbalance to China.
On Monday, the US and Japan unveiled new rules for defense cooperation in a historic move that would give Japanese forces a wider global role and allow them to come to the defense of US assets.
However, Japan’s past and Abe’s attitudes toward it could scupper a united front that is able to resist China’s centripetal pull.
Tokyo’s relationship with South Korea has been tainted by Abe’s alleged efforts to minimize Japan’s own atrocities during World War II, particularly the forced sexual enslavement of up to 200,000 “comfort women” from Korea and China.
With the 70th anniversary of the war at hand, South Korea has called for Abe to repeat the apologies of his predecessors, something he has so far been reluctant to do.
“My heart aches when I think about the people who were victimized by human trafficking, and who were subject to immeasurable pain and suffering beyond description,” Abe said on Monday in Boston. “On this score, my feeling is no different from my predecessor prime ministers.”
On Monday, Abe also visited Arlington National Cemetery — laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — and the Holocaust Memorial Museum, both symbolic gestures that hint at contrition.
Tomorrow, Abe is to become the first Japanese prime minister to address a joint session of the US Congress, where sympathy for South Korea’s demands runs high.
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