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Cheney to talk security on Japan visit
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrives in Tokyo on Tuesday for talks with the emperor, the prime minister and even U.S. troops aboard the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. One person not on his list, however, is Japan's outspoken defense minister, who called the U.S. invasion of Iraq "a mistake."Cheney's brief visit he arrives late Tuesday and departs early Thursday is intended as a pat on the back for Japan, which has been one of Washington's most valuable allies in its global war on terror, sending troops to Iraq and deploying logistical help for the U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. It will be a busy stay. Cheney is scheduled to meet with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, dine with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and talk with Foreign Minister Taro Aso. Not on the list is Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma, who recently said the U.S. decision to invade Iraq was based on dubious assumptions that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and was thus "a mistake." The comment generated a flurry of retractions and clarifications from Japan's government, which has been a staunch supporter of Washington's war in Iraq and even sent hundreds of non-combat troops to the country to provide humanitarian assistance, such as rebuilding roads and schools and supplying fresh water to an area in Iraq's south. Kyuma later backtracked, claiming that his remark was misinterpreted but standing by his belief that Washington should have been more cautious. Officials said he was not being deliberately snubbed by Cheney. "This visit will be a very short one with a tight schedule," chief Cabinet spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Monday. "I don't think the meeting was canceled, it was originally not possible within the tight schedule." Security issues, however, are likely to dominate Cheney's talks here. Japan and the United States are seeking to maintain a closely coordinated stance on North Korea, which recently agreed in multilateral talks to allow inspections and shut down a nuclear reactor in exchange for energy aid and other incentives. The talks involving Japan, the U.S., Russia, China and the two Koreas are aimed at getting the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program altogether. Japan will also be pitching its plea for pressure on the North to provide more information on the fate of more than a dozen Japanese who were abducted in the 1970s and '80s. Japan believes some may still be alive, and that more may have been kidnapped by the North than the 12 or so it has admitted taking. Cheney and Japanese leaders are also expected to discuss a wide-ranging realignment of U.S. troops in Japan. About 50,000 troops are stationed throughout the country under a mutual security pact that dates back to the 1960s, but Tokyo and Washington have been reworking that alliance to make the presence more effective and "interoperative," meaning that the two forces are likely to work closer together in the years to come, with Japan taking on a more significant role in its own defense and in international peacekeeping operations. Cheney is also scheduled to visit Australia and the tiny U.S. island of Guam. Posted by: ryuge 2007-02-19 |
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