October 18, 2003	Saturday	Sha'aban 21, 1424

TOKYO, Oct 17: US President George Bush told Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday that the United Nations is “old” and its structure should be reformed, according to a senior Japanese foreign ministry official.

Mr Bush made the comment after Mr 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 undertand 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.

The US president warmly praised the Japanese premier for pledging billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq and helping to secure UN passage of the resolution on the nation’s future.

“He’s a good friend. A very strong leader. And the relationship between Japan and the United States is very good,” Mr Bush said after the two dined at the Akasaka State Guest House. “And the meal was great.”

“Really frank. Meaningful. And interesting. Fantastic,” a grinning Koizumi said of their closed-door meeting as he posed for photographs with Mr Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Neither leader wore a necktie.

Mr Bush was here on the first leg of a whirlwind six-nation tour of Asia and Australia that US officials said would largely focus on trying to get more help for stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

The prime minister had been expected to reassure his guest that Tokyo will send troops to Iraq, following a promise of 1.5 billion dollars earmarked for reconstruction projects through 2004.

“He didn’t specifically say ‘I’m going to get boots on the ground’ or anything like that,” said a top Bush aide, who requested anonymity. “The way the president put it is, we warmly welcome what you have done and we will welcome that which you can do in the future.”

Mr Koizumi, who earlier had ruled out contributing to an occupation force in a combat area, “did not mention assistance or the dispatch of troops in concrete terms at all,” said a top Japanese foreign ministry official.

“But he stressed that Japan would do whatever it should do for the good of world peace,” the official told reporters.

Mr Bush also raised the nettlesome issue of Japan’s foreign exchange policy, and thanked Mr Koizumi for helping win passage of a new UN resolution on Iraq.

The senior US official said that both Mr Koizumi and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi had “picked up the phone” to world leaders on behalf of the US-drafted measure, which the UN Security Council approved 15-0 on Thursday.

On the issue of the value of the yen, Mr Bush said he favored a “strong dollar” and urged Mr Koizumi to let market forces decide the yen’s value, the US official said.—AFP