On December 12 and 13, Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territory Affairs Yuriko Koike visited Washington, DC for the first time since she took office. On the 12th, Minister Koike attended a dinner hosted by Ambassador Kato, with senior officials of Department of State and Department of Defense. On the 13th, Minister Koike met over breakfast with Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless, during which Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld also stopped by. On the same day, Minister Koike had meetings with Under Secretary of State John Bolton, National Security Council Senior Advisor Michael Green and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
On the issue of Okinawa, Minister Koike expressed appreciation of the presence of the U.S. forces in Okinawa for ensuring the security of the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan. She stressed that both Japan and the U.S. should closely consult each other on the “transformation” of U.S. forces in Japan to enhance the deterrence of the Japan-U.S. alliance and to explore possible reduction of the burden on local communities, especially in Okinawa.
On the issue of northern territory affairs, Minister Koike and Secretary Rumsfeld discussed the possibility of the U.S. supporting Japan ’s position in its talks with Russia. She welcomed the U.S. support and noted that it is important to put this issue into a strategic perspective.
On the issue of North Korea, Deputy Secretary Armitage expressed his intension to provide all possible support on the issue of Japanese abductees. Minister Koike and Deputy Secretary Armitage shared the view that North Korea acted unfaithfully, particularly in handling the case of Ms. Megumi Yokota.
Minister Koike, who is also the Minister of the Environment, is going on to visit Buenos Aires, where the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) of Framework Convention of Climate Change is being held.
[Related links]
* Japan-U.S. relations
* Japan-U.S. VIP visits
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