When Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese prime minister, arrives in America next week, Bush will offer him an unprecedented diplomatic treat: the two men will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, to pay homage at the grave of Elvis Presley.
After Tony Blair, Koizumi is said by White House aides to be the president’s most valued ally. Bush invited him to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2003 and was surprised when the Japanese prime minister broke into song as they were relaxing by the swimming pool. Koizumi has learnt the English lyrics to dozens of Elvis songs.
The June 30 visit to Graceland, the Elvis home that is now both a museum and a shrine, will be the first by any sitting president or world leader, according to Jack Soden, chief executive of Elvis Presley Enterprises. “We do have a king, though,” Soden added. “Elvis is buried in the garden.”
Bush’s initiative may owe more to his dismal poll ratings than to any need to bolster the Japanese-American relationship. “It’s not going to hurt to see the president playing host to a grateful ally in a setting that every American will recognise,” said one Republican strategist. “It’s hard to think negative thoughts about Elvis.”
Koizumi, who shares the same January 8 birthday as Elvis, once said he was introduced to Presley’s music by his brother Masaya, whom he described as an “Elvis maniac”. Shortly after he became prime minister, Koizumi released a CD entitled Junichiro Koizumi Presents: My Favourite Elvis Songs.
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Whether Bush will encourage him to break into song in Memphis remains to be seen, but given the president’s continuing difficulties in Iraq, it is safe to assume that there is one Elvis hit the Japanese prime minister will not be singing: Surrender.