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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Ozawa requests 'sufficient time' for Obama meeting if he goes to U.S. |
| 2010-02-08 |
| (Kyodo)--Ruling Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa said Monday he has asked that the United States give "sufficient time" for U.S. President Barack Obama to meet with him if it wants him to visit the country. The ruling party kingpin made the remark amid reports that Ozawa is considering visiting the United States sometime around Japan's Golden Week holidays from late April after Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia, asked him to do so when they met in Tokyo last week. "If I go over, I would expect that President Obama take sufficient time (to meet with me) and I made that request," Ozawa told a regular press conference at the party's head office in Tokyo. He also said he would not engage in any policy talks with U.S. officials if he visits the country, underlining that his visit would be simply aimed at deepening bilateral friendship or ties between the DPJ and the U.S. Democrats. Ozawa is expected to arrange his itinerary while taking into consideration the schedule of the ongoing ordinary Diet session. Upon his return from his trip to Asia, Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters in Washington last Thursday that he asked Ozawa to take a delegation of DPJ lawmakers to the U.S. capital sometime during Golden Week. In their meeting Feb. 2 in Tokyo, Ozawa and Campbell discussed the stalled issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, but did not go into detail, according to Campbell. |
| Posted by:Grotch the Scantily Clad7546 |
| #3 "If I go over, I would expect that President Obama take sufficient time (to meet with me) Hand shakes and bowing, Dreams & Audacity book signing and gifting, more bowing and head nods, photo session, Toyota lecture and admonishment...we're now up to 14 minutes. That leaves you one minute Ozi. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-02-08 09:52 |
| #2 ed, time the President wastes is generally an improvement over other ways he would spend it. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-02-08 09:50 |
| #1 He also said he would not engage in any policy talks with U.S. officials if he visits the country, underlining that his visit would be simply aimed at deepening bilateral friendship or ties between the DPJ and the U.S. Democrats. Then stay home and do not waste the president's time. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-02-08 09:39 |