WASHINGTON, Nov 16: Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told US President George Bush here on Friday that he would make his “utmost efforts” to restart a Japanese naval mission supporting US-led efforts in Afghanistan.

Emerging from talks meant to defuse tensions on a range of issues, Bush promised “we will not forget” the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea as Washington moves to take Pyongyang of a list of terrorism sponsors.

The two leaders held a joint public appearance after their first formal face-to-face talks, at a time when relations between the United States and its closest ally in Asia have run into an unusual number of snags.

Washington did not hide its unhappiness earlier this month when the Japanese opposition forced a suspension in a naval mission in the Indian Ocean to supply fuel to US-led forces in Afghanistan when the mission’s mandate expired.

“I told President Bush that I will make the utmost efforts for an early enactment of a legislation so that Japan’s naval refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean will resume as soon as possible,” Fukuda said.

Fukuda was to spend only 26 hours in Washington before flying back to help shepherd a bill to resume the naval mission through parliament.

For his part, Bush tackled the longstanding problem of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies, which has flared up anew because of Japanese anger over US plans to say Pyongyang no longer sponsors terrorism.

“We will not forget this issue. I understand how important the issue is to the Japanese people. We will not forget the Japanese abductees and their families,” promised Bush, who did not explicitly tie the issue to

terrorism.—AFP