Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will discuss a partial beef ban, security cooperation and disagreements over North Korea policy with President George W. Bush in Washington today, three issues troubling the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Fukuda, on his first overseas trip since taking office in September, will pledge to resume a naval operation in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, which was halted due to opposition in the Japanese parliament, according to the prime minister's office. He will also ask Bush not to remove North Korea from the U.S. list of nations that sponsor terrorism, which the Japanese public opposes.

On his side, Bush is likely to ask Fukuda to end his nation's restrictions on U.S. beef imports.

``The Japan-U.S. summit meeting will be tough because there's nothing positive to discuss,'' said Hisahiko Okazaki, head of the Okazaki Institute in Tokyo. ``The U.S. is concerned about an overall setback in Japan's cooperation with the U.S. under Fukuda's leadership.''

Fukuda succeeded Shinzo Abe, who resigned as prime minister Sept. 12. Abe chose to make his first overseas trip to China and South Korea -- breaking a tradition that new Japanese prime ministers visit Washington first -- to repair relations damaged by his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi.

Bolstered U.S. Ties

In his 12 months in office, though, Abe bolstered Japan-U.S. relations, especially in his attempt to change the constitution to allow the country to exert itself militarily. He resigned four days after meeting with Bush at an Asian-Pacific leader's summit in Sydney, Australia.

Fukuda, in contrast, has spent his first two months in office dealing with domestic political problems caused by the opposition's winning control of the upper house of the Japanese Diet in July.

In Washington, Fukuda will reaffirm his determination to regain parliamentary authorization for Japan's naval mission in the Indian Ocean, which expired Nov. 1, forcing navy ships back to Japan. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan objects to renewing the deployment.

Fukuda will also ask Bush not to remove North Korea from a list of terrorism-sponsoring nations as part of a deal to get Kim Jong Il's regime to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

Kidnapped Japanese

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura made the same request to visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week, saying North Korea should stay on the list until it fully accounts for Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

``When you think about the importance of Japan-U.S. relations, it's an issue the U.S. must make a comprehensive judgment on,'' Fukuda told reporters Nov. 14.

Bush is also likely to ask Fukuda to abolish restrictions on U.S. beef imports. Japan, once the largest buyer of U.S. beef, curbed imports in 2003 after the discovery of mad-cow disease in Washington State.

Japan resumed some imports in Dec. 2005, allowing only beef from cows under 21 months old.

``Japan-U.S. relations are so broad and deep that some individual issues won't damage the relation itself,'' said Foreign Minister Komura on Nov. 13 at a press conference in Tokyo.

Robert Dujarric, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies at Temple University's Tokyo campus, thinks Fukuda and Bush will accomplish ``very little.''

``Fukuda's main task is to save his party, not to achieve great foreign policy successes,'' said Dujarric in an email comment. ``The best they can do is to try to show some progress on the various problems that affect Japan-U.S. ties.''

Fukuda will meet with Bush Friday morning Washington-time, visit Arlington cemetery and leave the U.S. later in the day. Next week, he attends Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Singapore.

To contact the reporter on this story: To contact the reporter on this story: Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at Ssakamaki1@bloomberg.net; Keiichi Yamamura in Tokyo at kyamamura@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: November 16, 2007 00:00 EST