Biden is the highest ranking US official to travel to Japan since the earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc in the country and claimed more than 20,000 lives in March this year.

In a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Biden admired the will of the Japanese people in the face of the March 11 crisis. "Looking at it from far, it was absolutely breathtaking," he commented.

He added that the resolve of the Japanese people was a "model for the whole world." After the March 11 disaster, the US mobilized its 20,000 troops and 160 aircraft for relief and recovery operations. The US still has several bases in Japan after World War II.

Close allies

While expressing his country's admiration towards Japan's handling of the crisis, the US vice president also strongly emphasized that neither Japan nor the US economies were in decline. "While you're struggling to deal with one of the greatest natural disasters any country has faced and we are dealing with getting our budget in order, there are voices in the world who are counting us out…They are making a very bad bet," he said.

Biden also referred the US' long relationship with Japan, saying, "We are a Pacific power, you are a Pacific power. We are allies, both economically and politically," adding, "it is something we value a great deal."

'Back in business'

Kan on his part expressed his gratitude towards the United States, thanking the country for its "enormous assistance" and saying that the Japanese would like to reiterate their gratitude. Kan welcomed the US vice president's visit, calling it a "positive signal." He said, that the visit “demonstrates to the world that Japan is open for business." However, Kan's impending resignation casts a shadow over the visit.

The US vice president is scheduled to visit the airport city of Sendai, which was partially destroyed after the tsunami. US troops stationed there helped in clean up efforts after the disaster. Biden will also take a tour of the US military headquarters at the Yokota airbase, west of Tokyo.

After Okinawa

US aid and assistance to Japan after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has helped improve the relationship between the two countries that were experiencing tension regarding the US US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Japan's Okinawa Island. Many Okinawa residents have demanded that the long-standing base be moved off the island.

Japanese ties with Washington frayed after the Democratic Party took office in 2009 and then-Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama sought to keep a campaign pledge to move the Marine Corps Air Station off Okinawa. Last year Japan agreed with the United States to stick to a 2006 deal to move the base to a less populous area on the island, but the Japanese government has yet to win support for that plan from local residents.

Getting ready for China

Currently, defense planners in Japan and the US see the Okinawa bases as a significant part of their defense strategy as China builds up its naval forces and increasingly asserts itself in the neighboring waters.

Biden arrived in Japan after a five-day trip to China and a one-day stopover in Mongolia. The first five days of Biden’s 10-day trip were spent in China where he sought to assure Beijing, the largest foreign holder of US debt, that the US would not default.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao lauded Biden's efforts, saying his "clear message" had served to boost investor confidence in the US. In Mongolia, he reiterated the strategic defense and trade ties between the two countries and hailed Mongolia for its help in sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Sarah Berning