Prime Minister Koizumi And President Bush Hold Texas-Style Summit
From May 22- 23, Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi and President George W. Bush held a
Texas-style summit meeting at the president's
private residence in Crawford, Texas. Like most
of their past meetings, this meeting was also
very relaxed and informal. The president,
wearing jeans and a short-sleeved checked shirt,
met the prime minister's helicopter as it
arrived at the Prairie Chapel Ranch, and gave
him a tour of the ranch in his pickup truck.
Then, before dinner, the two leaders held
unscheduled, poolside talks for about two hours.
 The summit meeting the following morning featured frank
discussions of matters of urgent mutual concern,
such as the fight against terrorism, controlling
the spread of weapons of mass destruction, Iraq
and the Middle East and North Korea's escalating
nuclear threat. The two leaders also reaffirmed
their commitment to reinforcing the Japan-U.S.
alliance now celebrating its 150th anniversary,
and addressed two further matters, namely Japan-U.S.
security arrangements and the state of the two
economies.
With respect to North Korea's nuclear development
program, the two leaders shared their commitment
to seeking a peaceful solution, but, at the
joint press conference held after the summit
meeting, stressed that further escalation of the
situation by North Korea would require tougher
measures from the international community. And
while the United States held trilateral talks in
April with North Korea and China, the president
stated that the next round of talks would need
to include Japan and South Korea, two neighbors
directly threatened by North Korea.
With respect to other highlights of the press
conference, President Bush, for the first time,
publicly condemned North Korea for its abduction
of Japanese citizens, stating, "The United
States will stand squarely with Japan until all
Japanese citizens are accounted for." For his
part, Prime Minister Koizumi announced that
Japan is stepping up efforts to crack down on
North Korea's illegal activities, such as drug
trafficking and the export of missile technology
- both important sources of revenue for its
current regime.
With respect to the Japanese economy, President Bush
expressed his support for Prime Minister
Koizumi's leadership in pushing for bank reform,
the disposal of bad loans and other structural
reform efforts. The prime minister pledged to do
his best to overcome current deflation and raise
consumer confidence, noting that the current
state of the Japanese economy is better than
what is being reported given Japan's very low
stock prices.
Two days of extended, very frank and open
discussions in Prairie Chapel Ranch's informal
setting served to deepen the already strong and
trusting relationship between the two leaders.
President Bush, himself, described Japan as
''the very best of friends."
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