08:30, November 17, 2007U.S. President George W. Bush met with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in the White House on Friday and stressed the importance of the alliance between the two allies.
"This is an important visit. It's the first visit the prime minister has taken since he has assumed his important office. It's a recognition that our alliance is vital for peace and security," Bush said at the press conference after their talks.
"The alliance between our two countries is rooted deeply in our strong commitments to freedom and democracy. The prime minister and I are going to keep it that way. One of the things we've decided to do is to continue to make sure the U.S.-Japanese relationship is the cornerstone of security and peace," Bush said.
For his part, Fukuda also stressed the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance. "We agreed that Japan-U.S. alliance is playing an indispensable role in enabling Japan and the United States to address global issues together and also provides the basis for our active diplomacy in Asia," he said.
This was the first visit to the United States by Fukuda since he took office in September. He arrived here Thursday for the visit.
During their talks, they discussed issues including Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Myanmar and others. Meanwhile, the United States and Japan agree to use diplomacy in trying to resolve Iran's nuclear issue but will keep up pressure on Teheran, Bush said.
"We agreed that, unless Iran commits to suspend (uranium)enrichment, international pressure must, and will, grow," Bush said.
Both agreed that "a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten the security of the Middle East and beyond," Bush said, adding that "our two nations are united in our efforts to change the regime's behavior through diplomacy."
Moreover, Fukuda vowed to resume Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean "as soon as possible."
"I told President Bush that I will make the utmost efforts for an early enactment of a legislation so that Japan's naval refueling mission in the Indian Ocean will resume as soon as possible," Fukuda said.
Earlier this month, Japan's opposition forced the government to suspend the refueling mission to the U.S.-led coalition forces in the Indian Ocean as part of the war on terror operations in Afghanistan. The United States has urged the Japanese government to resume the mission.
Japan has been an important ally of the United States in East Asia.
Source: Xinhua
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