TOKYO, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The new Japanese prime minister plans to travel to Washington next month for his first meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush.
Yasuo Fukuda is to travel to the United States in mid-November, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. The trip is to be Fukuda's first outside the country as prime minister.
One item on the agenda is expected to be the Japanese refueling mission in the Indian Ocean for airplanes involved in Afghanistan. A key Japanese anti-terrorism law expires Nov. 1 and Fukuda is expected to tell Bush he will try to get parliament to adopt a new law as soon as possible, allowing the mission to resume.
After his visit to Washington, Fukuda is expected to fly to Singapore for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia Summit.
