Washington, September 17: Congratulating Yukio Hatoyama on his appointment as Prime Minister of Japan, the United States has said that its bilateral relations and global partnership will flourish with the new Japanese government.
Noting that the US-Japan alliance is strong and remains a cornerstone of peace and security in Asia, the Obama administration said it has every expectation that its bilateral relations and global partnership will flourish with the new government led by the Democratic Party of Japan.
The party is considered to be less pro-America than the outgoing Liberal Democrats.
“This is a new government for Japan. It’s a change which is dramatic, given the 50 years of LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) governmental leadership. But I am very confident that the strength of our relationship and our alliance will stand the test of any political changes, although there will be new policies and new approaches,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
“I think that’s only to be expected,” Ms. Clinton said at a press conference at the State Department when asked about the new Japanese government and the statements coming from Tokyo that it wants reduced US military presence there.
Ms. Clinton did not agree that there are tough times ahead given the statement from the new Japanese Defence Minister’s statement that he wants to end the Afghan refuelling mission when it comes up for renewal in January.
–Agencies