Japan's New PM Visits President Clinton

President Clinton greeted new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori Friday with praise for Japan's rebounding economy and an overture to the people of Okinawa.

Clinton and Mori, who became prime minister a month ago after Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke, strolled across the White House Rose Garden to the Oval Office for their first official meeting. Mori smiled but did not comment.

The two leaders met for an hour and 15 minutes, discussing Japan's economy, Mori's recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Clinton's effort to secure normal trade relations with China, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said Mori brought with him a baseball that Clinton signed and sent to him in 1993, when Mori was trade minister.

Clinton expressed hope that Japan would continue to rebuild rapidly, relying on the inherent strengths of a highly skilled, educated work force.

I think it's getting better, Clinton said. I believe that they will return to big growth, I hope sooner rather than later.

Clinton and Mori also discussed the Group of Eight economic summit, scheduled for July in the town of Nago on Okinawa.

Clinton will attend the summit, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Okinawa since America relinquished the island's postwar administration to Japan in 1972.

U.S. military bases on Okinawa are a source of friction for residents, who have been angry at the American presence there since two Marines and a sailor raped a local schoolgirl in 1995. A small island about 1,000 miles from Tokyo, Okinawa houses about two-thirds of the more than 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan.

Clinton said he would consult with Mori Friday on the best way to reach out to the people of Okinawa when he visits this summer.

I hope I'll have a chance to speak with them, Clinton said. We tried to be sensitive to the concerns of the people and be highly respectful. Where mistakes have been made we've tried to correct them and we'll continue to do that.

Friday's visit in Washington was the final stop of an extended foreign trip for Mori that began April 27 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

By SONYA ROSS