Aso, ministers voice high hopes for stronger ties under Obama

TOKYO, Jan. 20 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Cabinet ministers expressed high hopes
for strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance under the incoming administration of
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama ahead of his inauguration Tuesday.
''I'd like to extend congratulations for the inauguration'' of Obama after
fighting through the extraordinarily long election campaign, Aso told
reporters. He said that since the Japan-U.S. relationship is not something that
is automatically granted, ''we need to make efforts to make it stronger.''
Positioning the bilateral alliance as ''the axis of diplomacy,'' the Japanese
government aims to hold a summit between Aso and Obama by the end of March,
according to government sources.
''What is most important is that we continue to make the Japan-U.S. alliance a
firm one even when there is a change in administration,'' Foreign Minister
Hirofumi Nakasone said. ''It is necessary to further our close contact over
international issues, especially the current economic problem.''
Diplomatic focus is now on how Japan could cooperate with Obama in dealing with
the reconstruction of Afghanistan, the key policy challenge of the new U.S.
president.
In addition, Tokyo will seek to expand the cooperative areas of the two
countries to climate change, nuclear arms reduction and support for Africa, the
sources said.
''It will be a start under extremely tough circumstances in foreign policy,
domestic economy and finance,'' Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said
separately. ''But I believe the public has very high expectations and I hope he
will weather the storm.''
Kaoru Yosano, minister of state for economic and fiscal policy, said he hopes
the Obama administration will enable smooth global trade relations and capital
transactions.
Citing the U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised U.S. tariffs to
historically high levels, and the spread of protectionism worldwide afterward,
Yosano added, ''It is in this kind of difficult times that one must uphold the
free trade regime and that is my biggest expectation for the new U.S.
administration.''
Foreign Minister Nakasone also said Japan believes it important to work with
the United States to resolve issues related to North Korea, including its
denuclearization as well as the unresolved cases of its abductions of Japanese
nationals.
Nakasone expressed hope for Prime Minister Aso to meet Obama, and for himself
to meet incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, ''as soon as possible,''
but gave no details.
Japan's relations with the United States, its closest ally, peaked in recent
years under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He established a close
relationship with U.S. President George W. Bush and was instrumental in
deploying Japanese forces to Iraq in 2003 in support of U.S. operations there.
But the alliance suffered several dents during Bush's eight years in office,
most recently over Washington's removal of North Korea from its blacklist of
state sponsors of terrorism despite a strong call from Tokyo to first see
progress on the abduction issue.
==Kyodo
2009-01-20 22:11:44