Daily Press Briefing
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 25, 2007
INDEX:
---
JAPAN
　　Election of Prime Minister Fukuda / Continued Strong Relationship
　　　Common Interest in North Korea and Iraq
----
-----

MR. CASEY: Let's go back here.


QUESTION: A new Japanese cabinet was formed today under the LDP leader Yasuo Fukuda and what are U.S. expectations of the new cabinet?


MR. CASEY: Well, first of all, let me take the opportunity to congratulate Prime Minister Fukuda on his election. We very much look forward to working with him and his new government as we move forward. Japan and the United States are close friends and allies. We've been working together really across the full spectrum of international issues on everything from fighting terrorism and extremism in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, to working together to end the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear program, to a variety of issues related to international development and security. So we look forward to continuing that relationship. We've certainly enjoyed a very strong and positive relationship and a strong friendship with Japan over the years, and look forward to be able to continuing that with the new Prime Minister and his government.


QUESTION: And just a follow-up. Prime Minister Fukuda is also known for his dove-like stance toward Korea and China. How does the U.S. feel about that? Do you feel that there's going to be more stability also in the cabinet?


MR. CASEY: Well, I'd like the Prime Minister to be able form his government and actually make some decisions about policies before we respond to it. But certainly, I think that the fundamental interests of the Japanese Government remain the same; that includes our common interest in seeing an end to North Korea's nuclear program. It includes our common interest in seeing Iraq develop as a peaceful, stable democratic country in the Middle East. And certainly we will work the Prime Minister and his government on those issues as we move forward, and we'll be very interested in hearing anything he might have to say or offer in terms of new ideas in those areas.


QUESTION: Are you expecting more stability under this cabinet than its predecessor?


MR. CASEY: Well, I think what I'll do is leave the political prognosticating to folks in Japan. There are plenty of people that do that around here. I'm sure you can find a few of them to give you that -- give you some thoughts on that.


QUESTION: Thank you very much.


MR. CASEY: Yeah.