Greeting guests with gifts may be a Japanese tradition, but George W Bush, the US President, may find himself leaving the Land of the Rising Sun a little less laden with favours than he would like.
The President's planned trip to Tokyo this week has already netted him a $1.5 billion pledge of cash for Iraq. The total Japanese aid package for the region, it is estimated, could amount to $5bn over four years.
"Stability in the region is directly linked to the interests of our country, which relies on the Middle East for almost 90 per cent of its oil imports," said Yasuo Fukuda, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, when the Iraq aid was announced.
So far, so good, as far as President Bush's souvenir cabinet is concerned.
However, when it comes to more contentious issues, the Japanese executive will prove less generous.
The American President is travelling to Tokyo with two really major asks in mind. First, there is the question of Japan sending troops, as well as money, to Iraq.
The Japanese public are understandably nervous. The nation has been branded "Washington's ATM" by sections of the domestic and international media, and White House denials have only helped lend it credence.
While the Japanese public will be unhappy at the slur, many will believe it is better to be a cash dispenser than a source of soldiers expected to risk combat.
Japan's defence force is constitutionally limited in what it can and can't do abroad. Its military is constrained by the country's pacifist constitution. Plus, the majority of the country opposed the Iraq war.
Many are wary about sending members of a force that has not seen combat since 1945 to a distant country where US troops face attack almost daily. If a force is sent, it is likely to be small and not expected or obliged to put itself in harm's way.
The second very major ask on President Bush's part will be an appeal to Japan to halt its massive intervention in the money markets.
The country is ploughing an estimated $1bn a day into efforts to weaken the Yen and aid Japanese exporters. The chief beneficiaries are the traditional champions of Japanese industry — such as the consumer electronics and automobile manufacturers that sell their wares oversees. The losers, in President Bush's eyes, are their American competitors.
John Snow, the US Treasury Secretary, travelled to Tokyo ahead of the President to ask for Japan to stop flooding the market with Yen and was roundly ignored.
As far as the US President's requests are concerned, the timing is all wrong. Japan's politicians have their eyes set on the country's domestic elections early next month. Playing on public feeling, the main opposition Democratic party has pledged not to send troops to Iraq without a UN mandate. Any concession to the US on economic policy by the incumbents would be at least as damaging to them as to Japanese exporters.
All-in-all, the prospects are not good for President Bush's souvenir cabinet.
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