US Vice President Dick Cheney said today the United States wants to finish its mission in Iraq and "return with honour," despite the war's growing unpopularity at home and doubts among US allies.
Mr Cheney's visit to Tokyo comes just weeks after Japan's defence minister said starting the Iraq war was a mistake and its foreign minister called the US occupation strategy "immature."
US vice president Dick Cheney
The remarks forced Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whom Mr Cheney meets later today, to scurry to reassure Washington that Tokyo's backing for US policy in Iraq was unchanged.
But a survey released yesterday showed most Japanese voters agreed with Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma when he said President Bush was wrong to start the war.
"We know that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength, they are invited by the perception of weakness," Mr Cheney said in a speech aboard the USS Kitty Hawkaircraft carrier at Yokosuka Navy Base near Tokyo.
"We know that if we leave Iraq before the mission is completed, the enemy is going to come after us. And I want you to know that the American people will not support a policy of retreat," he added, as US military personnel applauded.
"We want to complete the mission, we want to get it done right, and we want to return with honor," said Mr Cheney, who heads for Australia tomorrow to meet Prime Minister John Howard.
President Bush is sending 21,500 more troops to Iraq, but Democrats who are in a majority in the US Congress are pressing for a change in strategy.