Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka obtained a provisional green light from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sunday to make a trip next month to the United States before the prime minister's planned bilateral summit with President George W. Bush in late June or early July.
Tanaka's plan is being viewed as an attempt to demonstrate, both at home and abroad, Tokyo's dedication to the Japan-U.S. security alliance.
It is also seen as an attempt to repair ties with the U.S. after she reportedly canceled a meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in Tokyo earlier this month, a faux pas she later blamed on exhaustion.