Pomp with Point

Welcome for an older brother

The welcome was as grand as protocol would allow. On his first visit to Washington since he assumed office last July, Japan's Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki, 70, was greeted with a fanfare of trumpets, a 19-gun salute, a military guard in 1776 revolutionary raiment and the largest diplomatic dinner the Reagans have given in the White House. The 109 guests ranged from captains of industry to Cabinet members of both countries to James Clavell, author of the bestseller Shogun, and Actor Richard Chamberlain, star of the TV miniseries based on Clavell's novel. The pomp had a point. Both Reagan and his guest were eager to underscore the importance of ties between their two countries, which share $56 billion in trade as well as strategic links. Moreover, both wished to establish a style and rapport for more substantive talks concerning the U.S. desire for an increased Japanese defense effort, which are scheduled to take place in Honolulu next month.

On the surface, at least, the two-day visit was a success. Suzuki was the ninth Japanese Prime Minister to come to Washington since the end of World War II. The President and the Prime Minister were able to "speak openly, as real buddies," said Suzuki, according to his translator, and establish what he called "an unshakable basis for friendship and mutual trust." A somewhat more concrete result of the meeting was issued when the talks concluded. In a 15-point joint communique, Japan agreed in principle to undertake additional military functions in defending its homeland and the Far East region. For its part, the U.S. agreed to ease the transfer of nuclear technology and materials long sought by Japan's energy industry.

This parting concord was remarkable considering several recent storms in trans-Pacific relations. Only a week before his departure for the U.S., Suzuki allowed that he had been "bewildered" by Washington's decision to lift the grain embargo against the Soviet Union and angered by the American failure to consult his government "sufficiently in advance." Suzuki's countrymen were also outraged when a U.S. submarine in April collided with a Japanese freighter in the East China Sea and then inexplicably left it to sink and two crew members to die. The resolution of a third and longer-standing difference between the two nations was hammered out less than a week before Suzuki's visit, when Japan reluctantly agreed to limit the export of its automobiles to the U.S. for at least two years.

In a 50-minute private session with Suzuki, Reagan expressed his appreciation for the trade concession and tried to apply diplomatic balm to other sore spots: tie described the ship collision as "tragic" and promised to consult Japan fully on future matters of mutual concern. As the President later put it to Suzuki: "The best way to handle difficulties is to pick up the phone." The two leaders apparently managed to establish a warm, personal rapport. Said Suzuki at the White House dinner: "We were born in the same year and are both proud of being a youthful 70," though the President had a decided advantage, he noted, "being 26 days younger." Rejoined Reagan: "We have decided that hereafter our relationship would be one in which he would be the older brother."

In the joint communique, the Japanese did not agree to accept the larger military role that the U.S. seeks for its ally. Constitutionally, Japan is limited to maintaining only self-defense forces, and as Suzuki told a Congressman this week, his country would "prefer to be a wise mouse rather than a roaring lion." Of some significance, however, was Japan's agreement to "make even greater efforts for improving its defense capabilities in Japanese territories and in its surrounding sea and air space" and to help alleviate "the financial burden of U.S. forces in Japan." Rough translation of the Japanese message: Don't push us too hard and we will go in the direction you wish us to go at our own pace. Accepting the reality that this was as much as Suzuki could commit himself to on paper, a White House aide said that the statement on defense was "something very important to be noted."

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