Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda
speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. President George W.
Bush at The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Toyako, Japan July
6, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
TOYAKO, Japan, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime
Minister Yasuo Fukuda officially announced here Sunday that he would attend the
opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Fukuda made the announcement at a joint news
conference in the northern Japanese resort of Toyako with U.S. President George
W. Bush.
Fukuda said that he kept his decision up to now
because he had to work out his schedule since there would be an important
domestic event the day after the opening ceremony. But now he found it possible
to attend both events.
"There is no need to involve politics. Even if China
has various problems, they are in the midst of making efforts to improve them,"
he added.
Bush also reiterated at the press conference that he
would be present at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
U.S. President George W. Bush holds a
joint news conference with the Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda
at The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Toyako, Japan July 6, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"I view the Olympics as an opportunity for me to
cheer on the athletes," he said.
"Not going to the opening ceremony for the games
would be an affront to the Chinese people," he said.
Fukuda and Bush are here to attend the three-day
Group of Eight (G8) summit that will begin Monday. Before the press conference,
the two leaders held bilateral talks that touched on a wide range of issues.
When asked whether the U.S. will take action to
strengthen the dollar, Bush said the American economy was not growing as
robustly as he would like and that his administration supported a strong U.S.
dollar policy.
"In terms of the dollar, the United States believes
in a strong dollar policy and believes the strength of our economy will be
reflected in the dollar.
On the nuclear issue of Korean peninsular, Bush said
that it is a positive step for DPRK to destroy the cooling tower of its nuclear
reactor, and that the country should do more to end its nuclear program.
He said that the United States will make sure that
the issue of the alleged Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese citizens in the
1970s and 1980s will not be ignored, noting that the U.S. will not abandon Japan
on the issue.
The two leaders also pledged to enhance cooperation
on the issue of climate change.
Fukuda said that the G8 members have not reached
consensus on the issue, but their views are converging. Bush said that the U.S.
will play a "constructive" role in curbing carbon emissions blamed for climate
change.
