Tuesday's summit meeting in Tokyo between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush helped further strengthen personal rapport and mutual understanding between the two leaders. Mr. Koizumi reconfirmed that the U.S. president is a strong supporter of his structural reforms. Similarly, Mr. Bush apparently saw in the Japanese prime minister a dedicated partner in his global fight against terrorism.

At a joint press conference following their meeting, Mr. Koizumi said he had explained to Mr. Bush how his administration is trying to solve Japanese banks' nonperforming loans and what measures the government is taking to contain the even trickier issue of deflation. Mr. Koizumi said he assured Mr. Bush that these difficulties will not deter his administration from carrying out structural reforms.

In response to a question that his government appears to have been wavering in its pursuit of structural reform in recent months, Mr. Koizumi emphatically stated that his structural reform policy should not be treated as one of several alternative policy options for his administration. He also declared that his economic and administrative restructuring programs are being steadily implemented.