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Prime Minister Receives a Courtesy Call from
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
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At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Fukuda stated that he welcomed Secretary Rice's visit to Japan, that Japan-U.S. relations were continuing to make progress steadfastly after the Prime Minister's recent visit to the U.S., and that he intended to continue the effort toward strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance. In response, Secretary Rice expressed the view that the Japan-U.S. alliance was of extreme importance and stated that she wished to advance cooperation on missile defense. Furthermore, Secretary Rice said that a recent incident in Okinawa, caused by a U.S. Marine, was an extremely regrettable event, that she took the incident seriously, and that she was concerned about the victim and her family. Secretary Rice also stated that she would make the utmost effort to prevent the occurrence of a similar incident. To this, Prime Minister Fukuda said that the incident must be taken seriously, that he would convey Secretary Rice's message to the people of Japan, and that he would like to advance Japan-U.S. cooperation on this matter to ensure that there would be no recurrence of such incidents. Prime Minister Fukuda explained to Secretary Rice that Japan had resumed the refueling activities, to which Secretary Rice said that the maritime interdiction operation@was extremely important for securing the safety of the entire international community. Prime Minister Fukuda and Secretary Rice agreed on the cooperation toward the resolution of North Korean abduction and nuclear issues, on coordination of the two countries to address the climate change issue, and on cooperation on African development in light of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) and the G8 Summit.
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