The Yomiuri Shimbun
WASHINGTON--U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton likely will visit Japan in mid-February on what is expected to be her first overseas trip in her new role, Japanese and U.S. government sources said Sunday.
Final arrangements are under way for a foreign ministerial meeting between the two countries, the sources said. The United States' top diplomat will visit South Korea following her trip to Japan, with India and China also touted as candidates for a visit.
Clinton reportedly chose to make Japan her first port of call after learning of growing concern in Japan that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama "is focused on China and will be less concerned about the Japan-U.S. alliance than the administration of [former President George W.] Bush," according to a diplomatic source.
In making a visit to Japan, Clinton is believed to want to clearly express the new administration's plans to put priority on strengthening the alliance.
At her confirmation hearing with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 13, Clinton said, "Our alliance with Japan is a cornerstone of American policy in Asia."
Regarding the Obama administration's stated top foreign policy priority of restoring public order and aiding reconstruction in Afghanistan, Clinton is expected to convey during her visit that she expects Japan to shoulder a reasonable burden as a U.S. ally.
During the foreign ministerial meeting, the two countries will confirm a strengthening of solidarity regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, and sign an agreement to relocate U.S. marines stationed in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam as part of the realignment of the U.S. military in Japan.
Clinton plans to visit Europe in early March to attend a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers.
(Feb. 3, 2009)
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