President Bush has begun his official visit to Japan by calling Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi a great reformer who can reinvigorate Japan's economy.

The two leaders met Monday in Tokyo for talks expected to focus on speeding up economic reform in Japan, the war on terrorism and environmental issues.

The two leaders were also expected to discuss the Bush administration's hard line on North Korea. Mr. Bush has called North Korea, Iran and Iraq an "Axis of Evil" that supports terrorism and seeks weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Bush is also expected to face questions about his new plan to slow the growth of greenhouse gases thought to cause global warming. Japanese Environment Minister Hiroshi Oki expressed disappointment with the Bush plan because it falls short of targets set by the Kyoto protocol.

From Japan, Mr. Bush travels to South Korea on Tuesday for talks with President Kim De-Jung expected to focus on Washington's commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Mr. Bush visits China on Thursday, where he is expected to discuss weapons proliferation, religious freedom and human rights issues, including Beijing's crackdown on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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