Japan’s Leader Arrives in U.S. to Mend Fences

Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa arrived here Tuesday for a brief visit intended to repair the damage done to ties between Washington and Tokyo by President Bush’s calamity-filled trip to Japan last January.

The Japanese prime minister is scheduled to see Bush today as both men prepare to attend a summit meeting of the leaders of the seven leading industrial nations in Munich, Germany, next week. They are expected to talk about Japan’s reluctance to give aid to the nations of the former Soviet Union and about America’s eagerness to have Japan stimulate its flagging domestic economy.

Above all, the two men will try to avoid doing anything that might reinforce the images of discord and disarray that dominated Bush’s visit to Tokyo. During that trip, the President collapsed during a formal dinner, vomited and dropped to the floor, with Miyazawa cradling Bush’s head in his hands.

In an apparent effort to avoid reviving public memories of that episode, the White House has resorted to some unusual planning.

After Bush and Miyazawa talk at the White House late this afternoon, they will fly to the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., for a private dinner together. This will ensure that the two men can dine in a secluded setting out of the range of television cameras.

Tokyo’s top diplomatic priority is to work out a deal with Russia for the return of what Japan calls its “northern territories,” four islands in the Kurile chain that were occupied by Soviet troops at the end of World War II.

A year ago, then-Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu and other Japanese officials were urging the West to hold up financial help to the Soviet Union until the territorial dispute is resolved. Now, Japanese officials have given up on trying to slow other nations’ aid, but Miyazawa plans to ask Bush and other Western leaders not to press Japan to spend more of its own money in the international effort.

A senior Bush Administration official said Tuesday the United States “understands (Japan’s) position” on financial help for Russia.

Last January, Bush took a delegation of U.S. business leaders with him to Asia, but the tactic backfired when some of the business executives complained bitterly of Japanese trade restrictions.

This time, the White House has no plans to bring in business executives to see Miyazawa and his delegation. Instead, U.S. officials will concentrate on trying to obtain specifics from the prime minister about what his government plans to do to boost Japan’s economy.