President Bush made two trips to Japan last week. One was an empty political junket that made a spectacle of the president and the U.S. automobile executives who accompanied him. The other was a journey that symbolized the economic, political and military ties that have entwined the United States and Japan to their mutual benefit for 46 years. . . .
The final communique and the subsequent press conference were filled with the vague assurances and mutual back-patting that normally accompany a summit between allies. Despite the generalities, it was a welcome indication that Bush and Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa were not unduly distracted by the election-year rhetoric. . . .
Bush and Miyazawa restated their commitment to the deployment of U.S. forces in Japan. The Japanese understand that a U.S. military presence in the Pacific is far more palatable to Japan`s Asian neighbors than the possibility of a resurgent Japanese navy. . . .
Except for a ceremonial trip to attend Emperor Hirohito`s funeral, this was the first trip by a U.S. president to Japan in five years.
To sustain the important relationship between the two nations, the next trip should be much sooner-and for best results it should not take place amid the political temptations of an election year.
