Japan's Mori visits Washington, Hawai'i

What is important in Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's visit to President Bush Monday is not that he is as close as can be to being an ex-prime minister, but that he is the top political figure in Japan, the object of what arguably is Washington's most important single bilateral relationship.

Perhaps seeking to make that point, the Bush White House rather undiplomatically pushed back the scheduled visit of Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen to allow Mori to visit first.

True, Mori presents something of a sorry personal spectacle as he arrives, with a public approval rating at home below 10 percent, sunk by gaffes and scandals since he assumed office last April.

Mori wants to talk to Bush about the Feb. 9 sinking of the Ehime Maru. Most of what Bush will know about the subject, of course, will have come to him from the court of inquiry ongoing here in Honolulu. But Mori's purpose is not exactly to demand an explanation, but to emphasize the emotional importance of the incident to his country — and to some extent to do personal penance for refusing to quit a golf game when he first learned of the sinking.

Much the same purpose will be carried out here the next day, when Mori is expected to offer flowers at the site, nine miles off Diamond Head, where the Ehime Maru went down with the loss of nine crewmembers.

On a global scale, Japan's economic malaise and regional security issues are the burning issues. But a substantive summit on those subjects may have to await a Japanese leader with better standing at home.