Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush made climate change and Japan's economic reforms their top items for discussion as they met Saturday at Camp David.

In office for only two months, Koizumi is on his first overseas diplomatic voyage.

Koizumi said Saturday he would "vigorously and comprehensively" pursue economic reforms to lead his country back to growth.

Junichiro Koizumi at Saturday's welcoming ceremony

In a joint statement issued at the start of the meeting, Koizumi said that he welcomed Bush's "strong intention to support sustained economic growth in the United States through tax cuts and other measures."

Despite having the world's second-largest economy behind the U.S., Japan has struggled through a decade-long slowdown.

After their meeting, Bush backed Koizumi's economic reform plans. "He talks about tackling some difficult issues that some leaders in the past refused to address," the U.S. president said during a joint news conference.

Bush and Koizumi also discussed the sensitive topic of global climate change. Prior to the talks, the Japanese leader said he would urge the U.S. to adhere to the Kyoto treaty on the worldwide reduction heat-trapping gases suspected to be warming the Earth's atmosphere.

Bush has rejected the Kyoto pact as oppressive to the U.S. economy – a move Koizumi had previously described as deplorable. But on Saturday, the two leaders agreed to work together to find common ground.

The weekend meeting took place against the backdrop of more strained relations between U.S. armed forces and the residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa.

A U.S. Air Force sergeant was questioned for a second day on Saturday in the case of a rape of an Okinawa woman in her twenties.

Some of the island's residents resent the U.S. military presence because of past crimes – including rapes – involving American personnel.