Japan's Abe Seeks Economic Inspiration During U.S. Visit

On April 26, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will kick off what is shaping up to be a landmark visit to the United States. After meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Boston on Sunday, Abe will travel to New York and Washington for three days of meetings. The visit will culminate in a summit and state dinner hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama on April 28 and a speech before both houses of Congress the following day. Equally suggestive, but far less noted in mainstream coverage of the visit, is Abe's post-Washington schedule. From April 30 to May 3, the prime minister will tour Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Los Angeles in search, according to the Japan Times, of "inspiration" for improving his plan to revive the Japanese economy, known colloquially as Abenomics.

Abe's U.S. itinerary reflects the intimate relationship, symbolic and real, between his domestic and regional agendas. It also points to the central role Japan's relationship with the United States plays in achieving its economic goals as well as its regional security and diplomatic objectives.