WHEN Junichiro Koizumi, Japan’s Prime Minister, flies to North America next week, one engagement stands out above all others in his programme of summit diplomacy.

It is not the meetings on Iraq and bird flu with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. It is not the state banquet at the White House or the visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

The key moment of this trip comes next Friday when the Prime Minister will board Air Force One and fly to Memphis, Tennessee.

There, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Bush, he will tour Gracelands, the former home of Elvis Presley and now a shrine to the man who had the same kind of impact on popular music as Mr Koizumi has had on Japanese politics.

This will be Mr Koizumi’s last visit to the United States before stepping down in September, and the Gracelands pilgrimage epitomises his style of leadership.

Before he came to power five years ago, the Japanese Prime Minister was traditionally the misfit of international diplomacy — the one sitting on the edge of the group photo, who spoke only when spoken to, and whose name everybody kept forgetting.

Mr Koizumi has brought to the job a sense of humour and flair for informality that have transformed the superficialities of Japanese diplomacy.

Meetings between US and Japanese leaders used to be earnest occasions, but when George and Junichiro (as they call one another) appear side by side, they behave like old friends.

Their personal rapport has brought their countries closer than at any time since the US postwar occupation of Japan, and led to historic changes in Japan’s engagement with the outside world.

After years of diplomatic underachievement, Japan under Mr Koizumi has moved closer to the international top tables. But many Japanese fear that they have paid an excessive price for their country’s newly elevated profile — the alienation and enmity of their nearest neighbours, China and South Korea.

When Mr Koizumi became Prime Minister in April 2001, he was not expected to have such an impact on international affairs. His passion was for domestic reform, but with the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001, he found himself faced with a crucial choice: how closely to ally himself with George Bush?

Public opinion was against involvement in the War on Terror, but Mr Koizumi ignored it, as he ignored majority opposition to the invasion of Iraq.

Instead, he pushed through legislation to allow Japanese troops to take their most active overseas role since the Second World War. Japanese sailors supported US and British warships off Afghanistan.

Times Recommends

• Rio Tinto four held as China prepares case
• Diplomats must keep heads down and trousers up
• When in Rome should one make like Berlusconi?