Abe, a nationalist and advocate of Japanese relations with the United States, is the latest in a revolving door of Japanese prime ministers thefifth since Obama took office.
In reality, Mr. Van Rompuy huddled that morning in his office on thefifth floor of the EU's summit building with a few key leaders including Ms. Merkel, Mr. Sarkozy and the head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet.