The United States officially announced Monday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the White House late next month for talks with President Barack Obama, signaling a grandiose red-carpet welcome for a leader expected to help address U.S. security and economic needs.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Abe will pay an official visit to the White House on April 28 that will included a “state dinner,” a magnificent banquet usually reserved for heads of state on “state visits.” Japan’s head of state is Emperor Akihito.
Though Abe’s weeklong trip, set for April 26-May 2, is technically an “official visit,” White House officials have repeatedly stressed that they would welcome him with grand ceremonies and other elaborate protocols as with a state visit.
That reflects high expectations the U.S. places on Abe.
“The two leaders will celebrate the strong global partnership that the United States and Japan have developed during the 70 years since the end of World War II and underscore the common values and principles that have made the bilateral relationship so enduring,” Earnest said in a statement.
They will also discuss a range of economic, security and global issues, including progress in negotiations to conclude an Asia-Pacific free trade agreement, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as “Japan’s expanding role in the alliance and climate change,” he said.
U.S. officials hope to see a breakthrough in TPP negotiations during Abe’s visit. If concluded, the massive trade deal would represent an unmistakable achievement as Obama struggles to leave a legacy before his second term ends in two years.
Japan has also been a key security partner for the U.S. in a region where China has significantly increased its influence.
Washington and Tokyo have been negotiating to revise their bilateral defense cooperation guidelines in a way that increases Japan’s military role through “collective self-defense.”
Collective self-defense empowers Japan to fight alongside its allies even when not under attack itself. Japan’s Cabinet reinterpreted Tokyo’s war-renouncing constitution to make it possible for the country to exercise the right. The revision is also seen as an effort to keep a rising China in check.
Abe is also expected to address a joint session of Congress during the visit, which will make him the first Japanese prime minister to do so. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pushed for such an address in 2000, but it did not happen due to objections over Koizumi’s visits to a Tokyo shrine honoring war dead, including war criminals.
Critics have claimed that Abe is not qualified for the honor because he has attempted to whitewash Japan’s militaristic past and wartime atrocities, especially the country’s sexual enslavement of women for its troops during World War II.
In Seoul, the South Korean foreign ministry said Tuesday that Abe’s possible speech should contain a sincere apology for its past atrocities if the Japanese premier addresses U.S. Congress.
“We assumed that the Japanese government is well aware of attention and concerns shared by the Korean government and the global community over Japan’s understanding of the history,” Noh Kwang-il, spokesman at Seoul’s foreign ministry, said at a press briefing.
“Seoul calls on Japan to inherit the past governments’ historical understanding and show sincere reflection over the history if Abe delivers his speech.”
Korean-American organizations have campaigned against such an address by Abe and collected about 6,000 signatures so far. They also ran a full-page advertisement in the newspaper The Hill demanding Abe apologize for the sexual slavery issue before speaking before Congress.
State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf declined to confirm Abe’s congressional speech plans, referring queries to Japan’s government or Congress. But she said the U.S. position on historical issues has been clear that they should be approached “in a manner that promotes healing and reconciliation for all parties.” (Yonhap)
