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 |
| United States President George W.
Bush (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visit the Kinkakuji
temple in Kyoto, Japan, Nov. 16, 2005. (Xinhua
photo) | KYOTO, Japan, Nov. 16 (Xinhuanet) --
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and US President George W. Bush were
seeking to reaffirm the Japan-US alliance over issues such as Iraq's
reconstruction and the US military realignment in Japan during their talks
Wednesday.
The two leaders, holding their first talks since last
November,were also to confirm Tokyo's efforts to reopen its beef market and
discuss a wide range of other issues. These include UN Security Council reform,
the Korean Peninsula nuclear issues and their stance on China and the rest of
East Asia.
Bush will make a speech in Kyoto in the afternoon
following his talks with Koizumi, and will stress the importance of the alliance
with Japan in not only the Asian region but also the global economic and
security arena, according to Kyodo News.
Before their talks, Koizumi and Bush visited the
Golden Pavilion Temple, or Kinkakuji in Japanese, a famous Zen Buddhist temple,
early in the morning, accompanied by Bush's wife Laura.
Koizumi has said he intends to highlight the
significance of the US-Japan alliance in the global context with Bush during
their talks. Koizumi regards Bush, who is making his first visit to Japan since
October 2003, as the leader of Japan's most important ally.
They are believed to have agreed to expedite the
implementation of the Oct. 29 agreement on realigning the US military presence
in Japan, Kyodo said.
Koizumi and Bush were also to reaffirm their
cooperation in working to prevent the spread of bird flu, promoting the Doha
Round of WTO trade liberalization talks at a crucial juncture, andcurbing global
warming.
Bush is on the first leg of a four-nation Asian tour
through next Monday that will also take him to South Korea, China and Mongolia.
He arrived at Osaka airport Tuesday evening with the first lady.
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