Hatoyama, Obama to work closely toward nuke-free world

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TOKYO, Nov. 13 Kyodo -
Japan and the United States agreed Friday that they will coordinate their
efforts to realize ''a world without nuclear weapons'' and toward that end,
they will urge nuclear states to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their
security strategies.
The agreements were included in a joint statement issued after a summit meeting
in Tokyo between Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President
Barack Obama, who arrived in Japan earlier in the day and is set to leave for
Singapore on Saturday afternoon.
''We share a vision of a world without nuclear weapons,'' Obama told a press
conference, but added that the process would take time and that they may not
reach the goal ''even in our lifetimes.''
But Obama underscored the need to continue pursuing the goal of eliminating
nuclear arms, noting such efforts would help to stop the spread of such weapons
and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
During their meeting, Hatoyama invited Obama to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
the two Japanese cities that suffered U.S. atomic bombings in 1945, according
to a Japanese government official.
On the prospects for such a visit, Obama told a press conference, ''I certainly
would be honored'' to visit the cities.
He described it as ''something that would be meaningful to me.''
The two countries are committed to nuclear disarmament as Japan is the only
state to have experienced atomic bombings, while Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, is seeking to create a world free of nuclear weapons.
The declaration states that the two countries ''welcome the renewed
international attention and commitment to achieve the peace and security of a
world without nuclear weapons and confirm their determination to realize such a
world.''
They also called on states with nuclear weapons to respect the principles of
''transparency, verifiability and irreversibility'' in the process of nuclear
disarmament.
Japan and the United States also agreed to commit themselves to achieving ''the
early entry into force'' of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the
''immediate commencement of negotiations on and early conclusion of'' the
Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
In an effort to boost the peaceful use of nuclear power, they will also
cooperate with other countries to enhance a new framework for ''civil nuclear
cooperation'' such as ''cradle-to-grave nuclear fuel management,'' according to
the statement.
In terms of regional nuclear threats, the two nations confirmed their
commitment to ''the irreversible and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula.''
They agreed that the six-party talks remain ''the most effective framework'' to
contain North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and that they will urge the reclusive
state to ''return immediately'' to the negotiating table for the multilateral
talks also involving China, South Korea and Russia ''without precondition.''
''Our goal is a nonnuclear Korean Peninsula,'' Obama told the press conference.
''Members of the six-party talks will continue to work to show North Korea that
there is a pathway or a door for them to rejoin the international community,''
he said.
The two countries also promised to work closely for the success of the 2010
Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington next March as well as the 2010
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Review Conference.
The Nuclear Security Summit was proposed by Obama during his landmark speech in
Prague in April, in which he pledged to create a world free from nuclear
weapons.
==Kyodo
2009-11-14 00:35:57