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US-Japan ties to 'stand test' of change: Clinton
2009-09-17
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed confidence that US-Japan ties will withstand the test of any policy changes introduced by the new government in Tokyo. New Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama wants a less subservient relationship with the United States, which has stationed troops in Japan since World War II and has traditionally counted Tokyo among its staunchest allies. The chief US diplomat told reporters at the State Department that it was normal to expect the new center-left Democratic Party of Japan government to adopt new policies and new approaches. "It's a change which is dramatic given 50 years of LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) governmental leadership," said Clinton, who spoke during talks with Bangladesh's foreign minister Dipu Moni. "But I am very confident that the strength of our relationship and our alliance will stand the test of any political changes," she said, adding "we've already begun intensive consultations with the new Japanese government." Her spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters earlier that Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for east Asia and Pacific affairs, would leave for Japan later Wednesday for talks with members of the new government. "The United States looks forward to early and close consultations with the new Japanese government on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues," Kelly added. Neither Kelly nor Clinton disclosed whom Campbell would meet and what the agenda would be. But Clinton said Campbell and other US officials would meet with their counterparts in the new government, some of whom they know in their previous roles, and would address any concerns it has. Hatoyama, Japan's new center-left prime minister, marked a turning point in history Wednesday as he took command of Asia's biggest economy with a pledge to return power to the people. The 62-year-old scion of a political dynasty was installed by parliament a fortnight ago after his DPJ ended more than half a century of conservative dominance in a stunning election landslide. After naming his cabinet ministers, whose top priority is recovery from Japan's worst post-war economic recession, Hatoyama said he also wanted to redress the nation's long subservience to US foreign policy. Hatoyama is due to meet world leaders including Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and other world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly and climate change talks in New York next week, and at the G20 talks in Pittsburgh. On the sidelines of the global gatherings, Hatoyama is arranging his first face-to-face meeting with Obama, where he will have to balance the demands of Japan's traditional US ally with that of his supporters at home. Left-leaning DPJ members and coalition partners have strongly pushed for a reduction of the 47,000-strong US troop presence in Japan. The DPJ has also long argued that Japan should not be part of "American wars" and has said it will end a Japanese naval refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of US-led forces in Afghanistan. Kelly said the United States "looked forward" to talks on these two issues. "We hope that they continue to make a contribution to the effort in Afghanistan. But they have to decide what that contribution will consist of," he added. The US-Japan alliance "remains a cornerstone of peace and security in Asia," Kelly said, adding: "We have every expectation that our bilateral relations and global partnership will flourish with the new government." Clinton, who visited LDP-governed Japan in February in the first stop on her first overseas tour as secretary of state, underscored the point. "I'm relaxed and optimistic that the strength of our relationship will be as positive as it ever has been and our core values remain unchanged," she said. But she added: "I think that there is a lot of work to be done on both of our sides to develop some understanding and build relationships."
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