Lots of Pomp But No Trade Deal In Obama’s Visit to Japan

TOKYO (McClatchy Washington Bureau/MCT) —

President Barack Obama spent his first full day of a weeklong Asia trip aimed at renewing U.S. ties to the region with the red-carpeted pomp of a state dinner, a visit to a religious site and the “full trust” of Japan’s prime minister that the U.S. will back it in a tiff over disputed land with China.

Obama isn’t leaving here with a long-sought agreement on opening up Asia to trade with the United States, but he heads Friday to South Korea with a measure of support from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who repeatedly called him “Barack” during a joint news conference. (The president countered with just one mention of “Shinzo,” otherwise sticking with “Prime Minister Abe.”)

“The United States is and always will be a Pacific nation,” said Obama, who was born in Hawaii and spent part of his childhood in Indonesia. “America’s security and prosperity is inseparable from the future of this region, and that’s why I’ve made it a priority to renew American leadership in the Asia Pacific.”

“I fully trust President Obama” when it comes to the U.S.-Japanese alliance, Abe said, adding that the president “exerted strong leadership” in pulling together a global response to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.

Abe called Obama’s visit a testament to the U.S. administration’s efforts to focus on Asia. Some allies in the region have questioned the initiative as the administration has appeared distracted by domestic budget battles and an array of international conflagrations.

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