A veteran diplomat warned Wednesday that it is 'dangerous' to believe that top-level personal rapport alone will enhance the maintenance of Japan-U.S. relations.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20061130a6a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='159'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B> Yoshio Okawara –

, a former ambassador to the United States, Keiko Chino, chief editorial writer at the Sankei Shimbun, and Hatsuhisa Takashima, a former Foreign Ministry press secretary, debate at a Wednesday forum in Tokyo. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTO

In an apparent reference to former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's close personal relationship with U.S. President George Bush, Yoshio Okawara, a former Japanese Ambassador to the United States, told a forum held to launch his book on Japan-U.S. relations that it was wrong to believe that solid relations with the U.S. were the basis of Japan's diplomatic agenda.

"Undeniably, a relationship of mutual trust with the U.S. is crucial to Japan, but this does not mean Japan can sideline its diplomatic relations with China, South Korea and other Asian nations," Okawara said.

Pundits hit Koizumi for pushing his friendship with Bush and not trying to mend Tokyo's souring ties with Beijing and Seoul.