ID :
81366
Thu, 09/24/2009 - 07:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/81366
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Hatoyama, Obama agree Japan-U.S. alliance remains linchpin+
NEW YORK, Sept. 23 Kyodo - New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed Wednesday that the Japan-U.S. alliance is the basis of the two nations' security and economy.
''The Japan-U.S. alliance remains the foundation of Japan's security policy,''
Hatoyama told reporters after their talks in New York, which he is visiting to
attend U.N. meetings.
In their 25-minute meeting, the two leaders also agreed to work closely on
issues related to North Korea, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The summit talks came after Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, who is
also in the United States, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on
Monday reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan who took office just a
week ago, and Obama also agreed to cooperate on efforts to tackle global
warming and nuclear non-proliferation.
But it was not immediately clear how far Hatoyama went during the talks on his
new government's plans to review the realignment of U.S. forces stationed in
Japan, which was agreed on in 2006 between the then Japanese government led by
the Liberal Democratic Party and Washington.
Hatoyama has said he would rather seek to relocate the U.S. Marines' Futemma
Air Station outside Japan's southernmost Okinawa Prefecture to reduce the
burden among local residents, despite the agreement on the transfer of the
facility within the prefecture.
In talks with Okada, Clinton was quoted as saying that Washington sees the 2006
agreement as the basis for the planned realignment, but also expressed
Washington's readiness to continue negotiations on that matter.
Hatoyama has said he will focus on building bilateral relations of trust on his
first diplomatic trip as prime minister, suggesting that he may not touch on
potentially contentious issues including the realignment and Japan's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean.
The DPJ has indicated that it may end the dispatch of the Maritime Self-Defense
Force vessels on the mission designed to support the U.S.-led antiterrorism
operations in and around Afghanistan, a move that Washington fears could affect
the agreements with other allies.
The issue will likely be put on the table when Obama meets with Hatoyama again
during his visit to Japan, expected in November.
==Kyodo
''The Japan-U.S. alliance remains the foundation of Japan's security policy,''
Hatoyama told reporters after their talks in New York, which he is visiting to
attend U.N. meetings.
In their 25-minute meeting, the two leaders also agreed to work closely on
issues related to North Korea, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The summit talks came after Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, who is
also in the United States, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on
Monday reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan who took office just a
week ago, and Obama also agreed to cooperate on efforts to tackle global
warming and nuclear non-proliferation.
But it was not immediately clear how far Hatoyama went during the talks on his
new government's plans to review the realignment of U.S. forces stationed in
Japan, which was agreed on in 2006 between the then Japanese government led by
the Liberal Democratic Party and Washington.
Hatoyama has said he would rather seek to relocate the U.S. Marines' Futemma
Air Station outside Japan's southernmost Okinawa Prefecture to reduce the
burden among local residents, despite the agreement on the transfer of the
facility within the prefecture.
In talks with Okada, Clinton was quoted as saying that Washington sees the 2006
agreement as the basis for the planned realignment, but also expressed
Washington's readiness to continue negotiations on that matter.
Hatoyama has said he will focus on building bilateral relations of trust on his
first diplomatic trip as prime minister, suggesting that he may not touch on
potentially contentious issues including the realignment and Japan's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean.
The DPJ has indicated that it may end the dispatch of the Maritime Self-Defense
Force vessels on the mission designed to support the U.S.-led antiterrorism
operations in and around Afghanistan, a move that Washington fears could affect
the agreements with other allies.
The issue will likely be put on the table when Obama meets with Hatoyama again
during his visit to Japan, expected in November.
==Kyodo
