Fukuda's opportunity to boost US ties

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, son of late Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, will fly to the United States this month, three decades after his father's first summit in America. He will land in a country that has changed considerably in 30 years.

Most noticeably, in 1977, 220 million people lived in the US; today there are more than 300 million, a gain equivalent to nearly two-thirds of Japan's population. Japan, by contrast, has only grown by fewer than 14 million citizens since 1977. The Japanese population is now declining.

In 2037 there could be 380 million Americans, so Japan looks increasingly small and elderly compared with the US.