Koizumi's homage to king of America By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington The White House is laying on a lavish welcome for Junichiro Koizumi when the Japanese premier pays his farewell visit to the US - only two months after the Chinese president was pointedly denied the full trappings of a state visit to the capital. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: c.gif Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: <../attachments/20060525/a738edde/attachment.gif> -------------- next part -------------- During his visit to Washington Mr Koizumi will enjoy a ceremonial dinner with President George W. Bush, an honour not afforded President Hu Jintao of China.
The White House announced details of the visit yesterday. Mr Koizumi - who steps down in September as head of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic party - will be in Washington on June 29 for talks on the "war on terror, defending freedom and democracy, promoting regional security and prosperity in Asia, and enhancing closer co-operation on global economic issues".
The reception Mr Koizumi is expected to receive stands in stark contrast to the visit of Mr Hu. Beijing spent months arguing that its head of state should be given a state visit, including a ceremonial dinner. Instead, he was given an "official" visit with only lunch.
As a prime minister, Mr Koizumi cannot be granted a "state" visit but Mr Bush has found a novel way to thank him for his support. The premier will not merely be seeing the president but will be going to the home of the king - a visit to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.
Mr Koizumi is such a fan of Elvis that in 2001 a record label in Japan launched a CD called Junichiro Koizumi Presents: My Favourite Elvis Songs.
While visiting Australia last year Mr Koizumi, who was sitting beside the
Australian foreign minister, crooned along as musicians gave a rendition of Elvis's "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You".
