Bush To Visit Japan In September

U.S. President George W. Bush plans to visit Japan in early September for a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

U.S. President George W. Bush plans to visit Japan in early September for a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Kyodo news service reported on Saturday, citing sources close to the governments of both countries.

The summit is designed to coordinate the two nations' stances on international efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the run-up to a leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum convening in Sydney on Sept. 8, Kyodo said.

The trip would be Bush's first to Japan since November 2005.

The U.S. government is also seeking to arrange a summit between Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Sydney on the sidelines of the APEC forum, Kyodo said.

A key sticking point at the Sydney parley will be whether remaining differences among APEC members can be eradicated with regard to the goal of seriously considering getting the global community to halve emissions by 2050, it said.