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US President Bush Plans to Visit Japan Mid-November

Posted on: Monday, 12 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

Excerpt from report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo

Washington, 12 September: US President George W. Bush plans to visit Japan around 15 or 16 November for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese and US diplomatic sources said Monday [12 September].

The two sides have begun coordinating Bush's visit to Japan, which is to take place ahead of his trip to Busan, South Korea, to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to be held on 18-19 November, the sources said.

Japan and the United States are expected to accelerate negotiations on such key issues as the realignment of US bases in Japan and Japan's resumption of US beef imports ahead of Bush's envisaged trip.

Bush is also mulling a visit to China during his Asian tour, but no date has been set because President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States has been rescheduled due to Bush's involvement in Hurricane Katrina relief operations. Bush and Hu are expected to meet on Tuesday in New York.

Bush is likely to confirm his cooperation with Japanese and South Korean leaders on resolving the standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. [Passage omitted]

The Japanese and US governments are expected to coordinate a new schedule for the so-called two-plus-two meeting of foreign and defence ministers following the election, the sources said.

The two sides had earlier planned to compile an interim report containing detailed proposals for the US military realignment in Japan at a two-plus-two meeting by the end of this month, but Koizumi's decision to hold a snap election delayed the process.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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