The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Tokyo

Warm handshakes and smiles for the cameras will be in evidence when U.S. and Japanese leaders meet on Friday for the first time since Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda took office, but the brief summit stands little chance of resolving the security headaches bedeviling the alliance. Japan's stalled naval mission in support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan and Tokyo's worries over Washington's warming ties with North Korea will top the agenda when Fukuda makes his diplomatic debut at a summit in Washington with U.S. President George W. Bush. The 71-year-old Japanese leader, who took over in September when his predecessor suddenly quit, is likely to come back empty-handed to Tokyo, where a standoff with opposition parties controlling parliament's upper house is paralyzing policy. To the dismay of U.S. policy makers, Japan was forced this month to halt its refueling mission for U.S. and other ships patrolling the Indian Ocean after opposition parties refused to agree to a new bill to allow the operations to continue.