Hatoyama, Obama to meet Fri. to reaffirm alliance amid base row+

TOKYO, Nov. 12 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama are set
to affirm a strengthening of the bilateral alliance when they meet in Tokyo on
Friday, with support for Afghan reconstruction also topping the agenda.

As Tokyo's ongoing review of a bilateral deal to relocate a U.S. Marine Corps
base within Okinawa Prefecture casts a shadow over bilateral relations, the
relocation issue is expected to take a backseat during the upcoming talks.
Obama's visit to Japan -- the first leg of his four-country Asian swing -- is
his first since assuming office in January, and government officials say that
signifies the importance Washington attaches to its decades-old alliance with
Tokyo.
''I believe the meeting will be a good one in the sense that he seems to have
felt strongly that he must pick Japan as the first country of his visit to
Asia,'' Hatoyama told reporters on Thursday. ''I'm looking forward to it.''
The two leaders held a bilateral summit in New York in September on the fringes
of U.N. General Assembly meetings as well as a short telephone conversation on
Tuesday. During the latter, Obama sought Hatoyama's understanding for a delay
in his visit.
With next year marking the 50th anniversary of the revision of the bilateral
security treaty, Hatoyama and Obama are expected to agree to strengthen
bilateral relations in a ''future-oriented'' manner.
Hatoyama, who has favored a diplomatic stance more independent of the United
States, is seeking a ''multilayered'' alliance with Washington in which the two
countries work closely together not just on military security but also on
global warming and other global issues.
Obama may refrain from specifically referring to the relocation of the U.S.
Marines' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa, as Tokyo's review on the
matter continues, but he may still urge Japan to stick to a 2006 bilateral
accord mapping out the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, bilateral sources
said.
Japan and the United States agreed earlier this week to set up a
ministerial-level working group to discuss the relocation of Futemma in an
effort to seek a ''swift'' settlement of the issue.
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, which swept to power after a decisive
election victory in August, has promoted the idea of moving Futemma's
replacement facility out of Okinawa, or out of Japan altogether.
Friday's summit also comes just days after Japan decided to extend up to $5
billion, or about 450 billion yen, in civilian aid to Afghanistan over five
years from this year in an effort to combat terrorism.
Hatoyama will tell Obama of the decision as the president wrestles with a new
military strategy for Afghanistan, particularly whether to send more troops to
the country. The two leaders are expected to affirm the tie-ups in the
country's reconstruction.
Japan's fresh aid is an alternative to an Indian Ocean refueling mission in
support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations that Tokyo plans to end in
January.
Hatoyama has raised questions about the effectiveness of the Maritime
Self-Defense Force mission in fighting terrorism and bringing peace and
stability to the people of Afghanistan.
On nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, Hatoyama is expected to make clear
his support for Obama, who was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize last month
for his vision of a nuclear-free world.
Hatoyama plans to tell Obama of the importance Japan attaches to its
cooperation with the United States and South Korea on the issues of North
Korea, government sources said.
The two leaders are expected to agree on the need to resume early the six-party
talks on dismantling the North's nuclear programs. Japan is seeking a
comprehensive solution to North Korea's nuclear, ballistic missile and
abduction issues.
International parental child abductions could also come up as a topic during
the summit after U.S. Sen. Jim Webb and 21 other senators urged Obama earlier
this week to take up the issue with Hatoyama. Japan has yet to accede to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The summit will be held at the prime minister's office on Friday evening, to be
followed by a joint press conference. Obama will leave the next day for
Singapore, where he will attend an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation forum.
Obama's visit was postponed by one day because he had to attend a memorial
service for the victims of the Nov. 5 shooting rampage at a military base in
Fort Hood, Texas.
==Kyodo
2009-11-12 23:08:38