By IANS,
Tokyo : US President Barack Obama said Friday that the alliance between Japan and the US will endure for a foreseeable future of East Asia, a Xinhua news agency report said.
“I began my trip here in Tokyo because the US-Japan alliance is a foundation for peace and prosperity throughout East Asia,” Obama said at a news conference after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. “I am confident that we will continue to strengthen the US-Japan alliance for future generations,” he said.
The news conference was a reaffirmation of the strong ties between the two nations, but the tensions on the ‘Status of Forces Agreement’ (SOFA) were perceptible.
The SOFA, which was signed by the former ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan and the administration of former US president George W. Bush, will see around 8,000 US soldiers remain in Okinawa after 2012, and Japan foot part of the bill to transfer the rest to Guam.
“It will be a very difficult issue, but as time goes by I think it will become more difficult to resolve the issue. So, we understand we need to resolve the issue as soon as possible and we will work to do that,” said Hatoyama.
“By doing so we will be able to further strengthen the US-Japan alliance,” the Japanese premier said.
“Our goal remains the same, to provide security to Japan while providing the minimum intrusion on the people that live here,” Obama said, adding that working towards reaching an agreement on this issue was essential.
While it was clear that the two leaders did not see eye-to-eye on this issue, many analysts expected this to be the case.
“President Obama is more likely to come out with a series of reassuring statements to Tokyo, emphasising continuing US commitment to the country while it continues to remain the centre-piece of US foreign policy in the region,” said Sarah McDowall, an analyst at IHI analytics earlier this week.
On Afghanistan, Obama said he was deeply grateful to Japan for its efforts to help achieve peace and stability in the region.
“The prime minister and I discussed our cooperation on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and I thanked Yukio for the commitment of $5 billion for rebuilding in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Obama said.
Japan has opted to pull out of a refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean that assists the US and its allies fighting in Afghanistan. It has instead pledged to send a maximum of $5 billion in aid to the region to help the international effort.
Hatoyama said that his government has decided to do so after long deliberations.
“In connection with terrorism, Japan should focus on humanitarian aid and help to develop the country from a non-military perspective,” he said.
The two leaders emphasised their unity on hoping for a non-nuclear future, though Obama stated that the US would maintain nuclear weapons for the foreseeable future.
“We share a vision of a world without nuclear weapons but we realise it will take time. We realise it may not happen in our lifetimes. We will continue to hold our deterrent for ourselves and our allies,” Obama said.
The US offers protection to Japan with nuclear weapons based on an agreement signed between the two nations in the 1960s.
On the environment, the two leaders restated their pledge to cut harmful emissions up to 80 percent of its 1990-levels by 2050.
“In the area of climate change, I have set out the goal of an 80 percent reduction and the US agrees with this. We have agreed to cooperate towards this end,” Hatoyama said.
The two also agreed to cooperate on the issue of nuclear proliferation in both the countries, Democratic Republic of North Korea (DPRK) and Iran.
Obama said that if Iran and the DPRK refuse to give up their nuclear weapons’ development, Japan and the US would continue to work together to put the pressure on these two nations.
“We will continue to implement the sanctions that have been put in place and will continue to work with our partners to make sure that our goals are met,” the president said.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the alliance between Japan and the US and the two leaders were careful to emphasise the benefits of the relationship.
The two said that over the next few days, they will speak extensively on the economy, a subject that was not discussed in the meeting between the two Friday evening.
Obama arrived in Tokyo earlier in the day for a two-day visit to Japan. He is scheduled to deliver a speech on US policy towards Asia and meet Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko Saturday.
Japan is the first leg of the US president’s four-country Asian tour, which will also take him to Singapore, China and South Korea.