United States Foreign Relations Japan

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged the new U.S. ambassador to Japan to bolster discipline among American troops stationed in Okinawa after the arrest of an airman suspected of rape. The request came during a courtesy call that the new envoy, Howard H. Baker Jr., paid to Koizumi. Baker arrived in Japan last week. Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy B. Woodland was arrested Friday on suspicion of rape.

After several days of negotiations, the United States today agreed in principle to turn over to Japan an American serviceman accused of raping a Japanese woman last week in Okinawa, a U.S. government official said. As of early afternoon Tokyo time today, however, the two sides were still negotiating last-minute hand-over details. Staff Sgt. Timothy B.

Top U.S. military commanders and diplomats in Japan stepped up their damage-control efforts Tuesday in a bid to blunt anger here over the rape of a young woman, allegedly by a U.S. serviceman in Okinawa. Immediately after stepping off the plane to take up his new post, incoming U.S. Ambassador Howard H. Baker Jr. sought to convey expressions of concern on behalf of the Bush administration. "We express regret, sincere regret," he said at Tokyo's Narita airport. "We promise full cooperation."

President Bush strongly backed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's tough economic reform package Saturday, and the two leaders sought to paper over their differences on such issues as Japan's commercial whaling practices and Bush's rejection of the Kyoto treaty to combat global warming. Instead, during what top White House officials described as a "fantastic" and "incredibly warm" first meeting, the heads of the world's two largest economies emphasized the long U.S.

Tired of being on the receiving end of what they see as Bush administration snubs, dissatisfied Chinese have taken to mailing calcium supplements to the Foreign Ministry here, in a jibe at allegedly weak-boned diplomats. Although it has protested a series of U.S. moves, from allowing Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to transit the U.S. to planning a national missile shield, Beijing has apparently decided to avoid a confrontational response to the United States. Which raises the question: Why?

The alleged rape of a Japanese woman in Okinawa--which police say may have been committed by a U.S. serviceman--could cast a shadow on today's summit between President Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Officials had been expecting a smooth, relaxed summit at Camp David, Md., between the two relatively new leaders. At the top of the agenda: strengthening the bilateral security relationship and Koizumi's plans for reforming Japan's moribund economy.

Disney has taken pains to soften its Pearl Harbor movie so as not to offend Japanese audiences: It altered scenes slightly, changed epithets such as "Japs" to "enemies" in the Japanese subtitles and opted to advertise the film as an epic love story rather than a tale of war. Perhaps the movie makers needn't have bothered.

Alarmed by indications that Japan may be rethinking its traditional U.S.-centered foreign policy, the Bush administration launched a charm offensive Monday to assure visiting Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka that U.S.-Japan ties benefit both nations. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told the outspoken Tanaka, "You should always remember that the best friend of Japan is the United States."

A top Navy admiral has decided against courts-martial in the Greeneville submarine disaster but will order the sub's captain to an administrative hearing that will force his departure from the service, Navy sources said Wednesday. In a decision that may be announced as soon as Friday, Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the Pacific Fleet, will conclude that the deadly collision between the submarine and a Japanese trawler was the result of unprofessional conduct by Cmdr.

Three Japanese whaling boats returned home Wednesday after an Antarctic hunt amid growing international criticism of Tokyo's plan to expand whale catches in the North Pacific. The ships arrived at two ports after catching minke whales over a five-month period near Antarctica, said Tomoko Kuba, spokeswoman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, which is funded by the government and sales of whale meat. A total of 440 minke whales were caught during the hunt, she said.