TOKYO, 18 October 2003 — US President George W. Bush told Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday that the United Nations is “old” and its structure should be reformed, according to a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official.
Bush made the comment after Koizumi asked him to “consider making better use of the United Nations” to spread America’s ideals of freedom and democracy, the official told reporters.
“Bush said ‘I can understand that point but the problem is the United Nations is old now and there is a need to reform the UN structure’,” said the official, who was giving a briefing on the two leaders’ discussions over dinner.
Bush praised Koizumi but also told him markets should decide currency rates - an apparent nudge to Tokyo to abandon its efforts to weaken the yen.
Bush dubbed Koizumi, who has pledged to contribute money and troops to help rebuild Iraq, a “good friend” as the two emerged smiling from a no-necktie dinner at Japan’s state guest house.
“He’s a good friend, a very strong leader, and the relationship between Japan and the United States is very good,” Bush said after his first official function on a six-nation Asian tour that will be dominated by issues of security, counter-terrorism, currencies and trade.
Bush himself made no public comment on the touchy topic of Tokyo’s policy of intervening in foreign exchange markets to stem the yen’s recent rise against the dollar. But a senior US administration official told reporters later: “The president once again reiterated his support for a strong dollar and for market-determined exchange rates.”
Koizumi, dapper in a beige jacket and orange shirt, was also upbeat after the meal. “Very frank, meaningful, interesting, wonderful,” he said in English when asked about the talks.
Koizumi, however, made no commitments on currencies and said steps were needed to counter exchange rate volatility. Before Bush arrived in Tokyo, Japanese authorities stepped up the rhetoric on the need for currency stability. “As I have said before, we will act appropriately and in a timely way against sudden moves,” Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki told reporters.
Facing an election in a year’s time and under pressure from US firms to act on what they see as unfair currency policies, Bush had already taken aim at Tokyo’s policy of intervening in the market to try to restrain the yen.
Many US lawmakers are also angry with China for pegging the yuan to the dollar at a rate they consider to be artificially weak, contributing to American job losses.
“We need a level playing field when it comes (to) trade and a level playing field will help us create jobs here in America,” Bush said in California before leaving for Japan on the first leg of a trip that will also take him to the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
