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CNN Sunday Morning

Economy, Topic Number One In Japan

Aired February 17, 2002 - 08:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Our day is just beginning, but President Bush's is ending. He's in Japan, the starting point for a week-long trip that will also take him to China and South Korea. CNN White House Correspondent John King joining us for details on the president's first stop, Tokyo.

John, good to see you. The president supping with the Japanese prime minister makes me think of the senior Bush and his disastrous trip to Japan when he got sick. But I assume things are going better, first of all, and talk is more about the economy, which of course is a lingering, festering issue in Japan.

JOHN KING, SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We will keep our fingers crossed, Miles, and hope that tomorrow night's dinner is without episode here in Japan. You are right, the economy will be topic number one in the discussions. Mr. Bush, of course, will thank Japan for its help in the war on terrorism, salute the long-standing U.S.-Japanese alliance. But you have here the leader of the world's number one economy, President Bush, sitting down with the leader of the world's number two economy, Prime Minister Koizumi.

The prime minister came to office amid great fanfare. He was a reformer winning an election, a surprise candidate promising to get the Japanese economy out of a decade of back and fort seesaw recessions. His program, though, has stalled in part because of domestic political opposition here. The Japanese bureaucracy for one, the diet (ph) -- which is the legislature here -- another. So Mr. Bush will try to give the prime minister a boost in public, endorsing his program, urging it to go through. That, of course, would help the United States' economy as well, because these two nations' economies are so closely linked.

In private, we are told Mr. Bush will raise some other concerns. U.S. manufacturers worried the yen is so weak; that it's very hard for them to export to Japan. But look in public for the president to try to give a big boost to the prime minister's program, trying to give him a little bit more political momentum here at home -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: It needs a little propping up, I guess, then?

KING: Yes indeed.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, what about Kyoto? Wherever our president goes, there are protesters, and there were protesters that were talking about the fact that the U.S. has sort of walked away from that global warming accord. Is the president modifying his position at all on that or is he kind of hard over on it?

KING: There was a reason the president just the other day -- late last week -- proposed his alternative to Kyoto. He knew that would be a point of contention when he came here to Japan. Mr. Bush does not like the Kyoto treaty. Of course, they take a great deal of pride here in Japan, and you are right, protesters in the street today opposing the U.S. views on that. Mr. Bush says the mandatory reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases would not work, would hurt the U.S. economy. Also, that some developing countries were exempted.

His alternative calls for mandatory reductions in some greenhouse gases, but not in CO2, carbon dioxide, which most believe to be the prime offender. Instead, the president says governments around the world should come together, adopt voluntary standards, give businesses tax and other incentives to reduce those greenhouse emissions. In the streets here, protests in the Japanese media. A great deal of criticism because they take such pride in that treaty. But the prime minister, when he was in the United States, said it wasn't worth fretting about anymore. That if the United States was not going to participate, the treaty was essentially dead and it was time to get about the business of negotiating an alternative.

O'BRIEN: All right. I guess we could probably call this the axis of evil summits, because that is a subject which is going to come up time and again. North Korea, being specifically the issue. Obviously, in South Korea they want to hear a lot about this and what exactly is on the president's mind. What about on the other stops here in Japan and in China? Obviously, North Korea is a big concern. It is, after all, right in their neck of the woods. In a way, would they be applauding the president for what he said?

KING: They have been rattled by what the president said. The Japanese, especially, and the South Koreans, even more so disturbed by axis of evil. They believe the president's rhetoric went too far, was too tough. Yes, they believe the weapons programs, especially the missile program in North Korea is a problem. Remember, North Korea testing a new longer range missile a few years back fired it this way towards Japan. It caused a great deal of concern here.

In recent weeks there have been some standoffs between Japanese vessels and vessels believed to have come from North Korea testing each other in the water, if you will. So certainly it is a concern, but here in Japan they want a full explanation of just what the president means when he says he will try to confront North Korea to reduce its missile exports. And in South Korea they believe that grossly undermined President Kim Dae-jung's sunshine policy.

He wants to negotiate with the North, he hopes eventually, of course, to negotiate reunification. His term ends in a little less than a year. He was hoping for more progress. They believe the president's comment was so tough that it will back North Korea into a corner. That North Korea will not want to sit down and negotiate because the United States would be involved in those negotiations. And essentially then think that if you call a country evil, how do you expect it to come and sit down at the table to negotiate with you?

O'BRIEN: All right, fair enough. John, I know you've had a long day. We do have a "Reporter's Notebook" coming up, and if you could join us that would be great. I understand if you have to call it a day. In any case, "Reporter's Notebook" is coming up in about 40 minutes. We know for sure Rebecca MacKinnon will be with us, in addition to a reporter from the "Christian Science Monitor" taking your e-mails. Wam@cnn.com is the place to do that. John King, live in Tokyo. Thanks very much as always.

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