Bush Begins Asia Trip; Hirohito Rite First Call

President Bush departed before sunrise today on a five-day mission to the Far East, his first overseas trip as President, with the aim of bolstering U.S. strategic and economic relationships in Asia.

The first stop is Japan and the funeral of Emperor Hirohito on Friday, followed by a weekend visit to China and a 4 1/2-hour stop in South Korea.

In a light drizzle at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, Bush and his wife, Barbara, boarded Air Force One without fanfare or comment.

During a refueling stop in Anchorage, Bush spoke to Alaskans assembled in a massive hangar at Elmendorf Air Force Base and drew attention to U.S. interests in the Far East.

“Alaskans understand that America is as much a Pacific nation as it is an Atlantic one--and that the Pacific region is of great and growing importance in international affairs,” he said.

But even as he stressed the strength of U.S. ties in Asia, he gently prodded Japan to play a greater role in the common defense of the Far East.

Saluting the strength of the U.S. relationship with all three countries he will visit before returning to Washington on Monday, Bush said he seeks by his trip to Tokyo to show his respect for Japan as “a valued ally and fellow democracy.”

However, in other remarks, there was a hint of the undercurrent of tension that often marks U.S.-Japanese relations.

In written answers provided to questions submitted by the Kyodo News Service of Japan, the President acknowledged “Japan’s continued and steady progress in improving its defense capability,” long a point of prodding by the United States. But he offered the reminder that “there is still room for greater improvement, especially in the area of sustainability”--the crucial military ability to maintain long supply lines from home bases to units operating in the field, or in the case of Japan, at sea.

Brent Scowcroft, the President’s national security adviser, said that in the meetings with Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, Bush will raise the question of how Japan can increase its contribution, “whether it’s through their own defense expenditures, whether it’s through helping mutual allies with security.”