Japan PM visits Obama at White House

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WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (CNN): It's a long trip -- 6,800 miles (11,000 km) -- for a short meeting, but Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama Tuesday morning in an hour-long summit at the White House.

The visit, announced last week, gives Aso the distinction of being the first head of state to be hosted by the Obama administration and comes hours ahead of the president's first address to a joint session of Congress.

"It clearly shows President Obama gives the Japan-US relationship high priority," Takeo Kawamura, Japan's Cabinet secretary, said.

The White House says the leaders will "discuss the close and long-standing alliance between the United States and Japan" and will emphasize "the importance of consultation between leaders of the world's largest economies in the run-up to the London Economic Summit" in April.