TOKYO - US Vice President Dick Cheney thanked Japan's prime minister for not giving in to Iraqi militants who are demanding withdrawal of Japanese troops in exchange for the release of Japanese hostages, and condemned "sudden random strikes" against innocent civilians in Iraq.

Cheney met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in an atmosphere of rising international tension over increased violence and the holding of foreign captives in Iraq.

"We have consulted closely with the prime minister and his government to make certain we do everything we can to be of assistance," Cheney told reporters.

Ending a three-day visit to Japan, he paid a call on Emperor Akihito and gave a speech Tuesday on US-Japanese relations before his flight to China, his second stop on a tour of Asia that also includes a visit to South Korea.

Cheney told a forum sponsored by The Washington Post and the Daily Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper that the relationship with Japan was "one of the greatest achievements of modern history".

Cheney also condemned what he called the recent "sudden, random strikes against innocent citizens" in Iraq.

Of the Japanese hostages, he said the US "stands with you in your determination to bring your people home safely."

He recalled then-US President Ronald Reagan's speech to the Japanese Diet 21 years ago in which he cited an "old Chinese proverb: 'A single arrow is easily broken, but not three in a bunch."'

"The unity of America, Japan and like-minded nations saw us through the dark days of the Cold War, and with that same unity we will overcome the trials of today," Cheney said.

"We believe in the capacity of Iraqis, Afghans and others in the Middle East, to succeed under just and democratic governments," he said.

On Iraq, Japan has refused to bow to demands that it withdraw its roughly 530 ground troops performing humanitarian missions, part of an eventual deployment of 1,100 non-combat troops to the Gulf.

Kidnappers holding three hostages have threatened to burn them alive unless the Japanese troops leave, but the deadline has passed with no indication the threat has been carried out.

"We wholeheartedly support the position the prime minister has taken with respect to the question of the Japanese hostages," Cheney said.

Japan's post-World War II constitution, drafted by the victorious US, forbids Tokyo from sending forces abroad. Koizumi had to have a special law enacted to send the non-combat forces, and the law specifies they can be sent only to areas that are deemed safe.

At the forum, Cheney was asked whether Japan was moving away from pacificism.

"There's no question over time, Japan has been willing to take on increased responsibility in the international arena," he said, praising the nation's deployment of non-combat forces to hot spots, including Iraq.

"We should welcome these kinds of developments," Cheney said. "It's welcomed by almost everyone in the community of nations."

All three nations Cheney is visiting have seen civilians kidnapped in Iraq. Seven Chinese in Iraq were freed Tuesday after being abducted. Eight South Korean civilians were kidnapped late last week but were released.

"We especially appreciate Japan's role in helping with the global war on terror and their work with us in Afghanistan and Iraq and the fact that they've taken on significant responsibilities in those endeavors," Cheney said.

A senior administration official, briefing reporters on the Cheney-Koizumi meeting Monday on condition of anonymity, said Cheney and Koizumi extensively discussed the increased violence in Iraq and the holding of foreign hostages.

Cheney told Koizumi he expected countries that make up the US-led coalition in Iraq to come under maximum pressure in the run-up to a planned June 30 turnover of civilian authority to an interim Iraqi government, the official said.

The two leaders also talked about efforts to prod stalled talks to resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear programme, the US official said.

Cheney and Koizumi did not directly take up the question of Japan's five-month-old ban on US beef imports implemented after mad-cow disease was diagnosed in a Holstein in the US state of Washington.

Cheney raised the issue later, however, in a meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, said Cheney spokesman Kevin Kellems.

There were no breakthroughs, but "that conversation continues," Kellems said. Japan is continuing to press for 100 per cent inspection of beef carcasses, a requirement the US deems excessive.

(Agencies via Xinhua)