By Nora Boustany
Friday, July 7, 2006; A11

Loving tender and holding tight are about more than Elvis for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi . Beneath the spontaneity and flamboyance that his countrymen sum up as Koizumi Theater lies heartfelt compassion.

On Thursday last week, the day before he went to Graceland, Koizumi spent some quality time with U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq and recovering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Koizumi, boyish with a bohemian hair flip, chatted with several patients and posed for pictures with them and their families on the hospital's fifth floor, the Japanese Embassy's minister for public affairs, Mitsuru Kitano , said after the visit.

"Since the wounded soldiers could not move about freely, the prime minister got close to each soldier on their beds to pose for a commemorative photo," Kitano said.

Spec. Maxwell Ramsey , 36, of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, greeted Koizumi with: " Konnichi-wa. Hajime-mashite. Ogenki desuka ?" -- Japanese for "Hello, how do you do? Are you well?"

A surprised Koizumi, who usually chats through an interpreter, replied in English, "Your Japanese is very good."

Ramsey, whose wife was born in Japan, described Koizumi as "polite, casual, a bit reserved yet also lighthearted."

"He wanted to know about the progress in my injury and what I was going to do after I recovered," said Ramsey, whose leg had to be amputated after he was injured in Ramadi, a city in western Iraq.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Farmer Jr ., commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command, which includes Walter Reed, said Ramsey would soon be "jumping out of planes for a 101st Airborne celebration."

Koizumi wanted to know how many jumps Ramsey had under his belt. More than 360, Ramsey replied, adding that he hoped to accomplish his first post-injury jump in September.

After listening to soldiers describe their injuries, Koizumi encouraged them to "keep up the fight."

Koizumi declined hospital officials' recommendation of an "alcohol disinfection treatment prior to coming into contact with hospital patients to prevent the spread of any communicable diseases," Kitano said.

"I don't need anything like that," Koizumi said. "I'm not concerned about myself."

Anything lost in translation here?

Ramsey said he congratulated Koizumi for Japan's participation in Iraq -- about 550 troops are there on noncombat missions -- and wished him a pleasant trip to Graceland, the Elvis Presley estate now used as a museum.

"Do you know any Elvis songs?" Koizumi wanted to know, and within seconds they were both belting out: "Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on."

Koizumi was accompanied by the Japanese ambassador, Ryozo Kato , and the U.S. ambassador to Tokyo, J. Thomas Schieffer , on his rounds last Thursday. The prime minister also visited Arlington National Cemetery, where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The Japanese prime minister's feel-good, ultra-cool style is filtering down the ranks. Formality is out, touchy-feely is in.

Akitaka Saiki , the Japanese Embassy's deputy chief of mission, will hold a celebration this evening of Tanabata, the annual Festival of the Stars.

Tanabata stems from a myth about two lovers, stars personified as Hikoboshi, a cow herder, and Orihime, a weaver. The stars were separated by the Milky Way and can see each other only once a year, on July 7.

In ancient times, shrine maidens celebrated the day with hopes the rice crops would survive the summer typhoon season.

Nowadays, children and adults scribble wishes on multicolored bits of paper. The messages and origami decorations are suspended from bamboo trees.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told Washington Post columnists and reporters Thursday that he saw a change of attitude among the Iranians about the most recent offer to resolve a standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran has been offered a package by the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany that includes incentives such as nuclear expertise and reactors. It calls on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment for the duration of any talks, and spells out that there should be a long-term moratorium on such activity until the world community is convinced that Iran's nuclear goals are peaceful.

Gul, who said he had been involved in this issue at the behest of the Iranian government, noted that he could attest to their willingness to find a way out of the impasse.

"From the Iranian side, I see that they see the package is good. They see there is a change in the position and there is a real intention for a diplomatic solution," he said. "I met most of them, and they are forthcoming for a solution."

The Iranians have a "strange consultation mechanism since they are not all of the same opinion. . . . There is a dynamic for debate, and I have encouraged them to focus on the real change."

Gul said, however, that the Iranians were seeking guarantees that the suggested package of measures would be delivered.