For Those at Home

There is nothing particularly wrong with U.S.-Japanese relations these days. Thus there was nothing urgent about last week's visit to Washington of Japan's brusque, imperturbable Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda. He came to the U.S. mostly to score points at home, where, as is often the case with Japanese Prime Ministers, he is not very popular.

Ikeda, a stocky man with a hoarse voice who recovered from a near-fatal skin disease in the 1930s, proved highly durable on the Washington ceremonial circuit. He chatted, via interpreter, with President Kennedy at the White House, made a hit at a stag luncheon given by Vice President Johnson by expressing, with deep feeling, Japan's appreciation for U.S. financial aid. Ikeda spent an afternoon in discussions with Rusk and aides in the State Department, and he and his pretty kimono-clad wife Mitsue and three daughters were guests at a Japan-America Society reception.

Polite Phrases. Next morning he splashed through a downpour without raincoat to lay white gladioli and yellow chrysanthemums at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then sat next to former President Dwight Eisenhower at a White House luncheon. Back in the rain, he cruised the choppy Potomac for two hours with Kennedy on the presidential yacht Honey Fitz. Before leaving the U.S., Ikeda addressed the House of Representatives and flew on to New York, where, in polite phrases, he issued a clear warning: U.S. restrictions against Japanese products can hurt the Japanese economy--and that economy is vital to Far East stability.

As he heads home, Ikeda carries some concrete assurances of closer ties with the U.S. Example: a two-nation Cabinet-level committee was set up to meet at least once a year to promote economic and trade relations between the U.S. and Japan. Such assurances can only be applauded in Japan, where, despite the noise raised by frequently rioting leftists, majority sentiment is still heavily pro-American and antiCommunist.

Delicate Position. But on a few questions, Ikeda remained noncommittal, in recognition of his delicate political position at home. He hinted that Japan would not embrace a resumption of nuclear testing by the U.S. And he offered a classically inconclusive statement about the admission of Communist China to the U.N.: "To keep 600 million people out of the United Nations is unrealistic and unnatural, and contrary to the principles of universality of the United Nations. We have a treaty with Taiwan, and an amicable and profitable relationship. There is a question of your public opinion, their public opinion and ties, and ours. You have to know the world situation before reaching a decision."

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