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US and Japan vow to revitalize strained ties
“I told him that the US-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of everything,” Hatoyama told reporters after their summit. “But given the changing times and global environment, I would like to deepen the alliance and create a new US-Japan alliance that is constructive and future-oriented.”
Obama, on his first trip to Asia as leader, agreed.
“Our alliance will endure and our efforts will be focused on revitalizing that friendship so that it’s even stronger and more successful in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.”
Tokyo is the first stop in Obama’s nine-day Asian tour that takes Obama to Singapore for an Asia-Pacific summit, to China for talks on climate change and trade imbalances, and to South Korea, where North Korea’s nuclear ambitions will be in focus.
Hatoyama and Obama agreed on a plan to review their alliance over the next year, with a view to deepening it as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their security treaty.
Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party defeated its long-dominant rival in an August election, repeated his view that a row over on the US Marines’ Futenma air base on southern Okinawa island should be resolved as soon as possible.
On Friday, eight elderly victims of the 1945 bombs demonstrated along with supporters outside the U Embassy in Tokyo calling for Obama to push ahead towards his vision of a nuclear-free world.
The two leaders were, however, expected to stress the positive, agreeing to cooperate in fighting global warming and promoting nuclear disarmament, while calling on North Korea to rejoin stalled six-party talks on its nuclear arms program.
“Pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems makes North Korea and the region less secure, whereas negotiations in the six-party process to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can bring security and prosperity to North Korea and the region,” Obama told South Korea’s Yonhap news service.
North Korea warned the South it was ready for battle over a disputed sea border with a pledge to take “merciless military measures to defend” what it saw as the correct line. The two Koreas had their first naval firefight in seven years on Tuesday, but there were no reported casualties.
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