Senior officials from Japan and the United States are to meet in Tokyo Sunday for talks on topics ranging from beef imports to military issues.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry says Nicholas Burns, the United States' undersecretary of state for political affairs, is due to meet with Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Tsuneo Nishida.
Australia will join the U.S.-Japanese talks later this week for discussions about Iraq and Afghanistan, where all three countries have military forces.
President Bush is traveling to Japan in November for meetings with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Mr. Burns headed to Japan from India, where he reaffirmed Saturday Washington's commitment to a nuclear pact that will allow the United States to supply New Delhi with nuclear fuel, technology and equipment.
Some information for this report provided by AP.