The Yomiuri Shimbun
Defense Minister Yuriko Koike received a warm welcome by key figures in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush during her visit to Washington on Wednesday.
During her visit, she met with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Steven Hadley and other key figures in the administration.
This indicated Washington's desire for Japan to extend its dispatch of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to the Indian Ocean to assist U.S.-led counterterrorism activities in Afghanistan.
Koike told reporters Wednesday night: "Though this was only my first visit, Bush administration provided me opportunities to meet with top figures. I haven't been openly pressured [over the extension of the law], but I could sense they wanted to tell me: 'This is the war on terror. Don't you understand this.'"
The warm welcome also reflects the United States' hopes that Koike's lack of connections with Liberal Democratic Party members who have vested interests in defense matters will lead to a new development in Japan's defense policy.
There are myriad security problems between Japan and the United States, such as the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, which has been stalled.
The stalemate is partly caused by cozy relationships between lawmakers and the defense industry, a Defense Ministry official said.
One official said the administration hopes she will bring with her a change to Japan's defense policies.
(Aug. 10, 2007)
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