As George W. Bush and Junichiro Koizumi stood together in front of Kyoto’s shimmering Golden Temple on Wednesday, the US president mouthed the word “magnificent” to Japan’s prime minister. He was talking about the temple, one of Japan’s most delicately beautiful treasures, but he might as well have been referring to the state of the US-Japan alliance.

Mr Bush, at the start of his tour of four Asian nations, was at pains to emphasise the vigour of the Japan relationship. With a nod to his “friend” Mr Koizumi, he said: “The alliance that you have made with the US is the pillar of stability and security for the region.”