Editorial
Japan, U.S. should cooperate in more diverse fields
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama met in the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Friday, and reconfirmed that the two countries will strengthen their alliance as next year marks the 50th anniversary of the amendment of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
They agreed to develop the bilateral alliance, which has contributed to stability in the Asia-Pacific region, into cooperation in working on global issues in the 21st century, such as global warming, energy problems and nuclear non-proliferation. The accord, which is in line with the needs of the times, should be highly appreciated.
Japan and the United States are required to rebuild their bilateral alliance because the world has been undergoing drastic changes. The two countries redefined their security arrangement in a joint declaration issued in 1996 following the end of the Cold War. However, the world now faces new challenges, such as international terrorism, Iran and North Korea's nuclear weapons development and China's rapidly increasing influence on the international community. It is also an urgent task to respond to climate change, energy problems and poverty.
Amid these trends, new administrations that appeal for changes have been formed in both countries. The two leaders appear to share the same philosophy and goals. The redefinition of the Japan-U.S. alliance, which is aimed at increasing the reliability of the alliance and nurturing bilateral cooperative relations that respond to the needs of the times, is appropriate.
Prime Minister Hatoyama, who calls for a close and equal Japan-U.S. alliance, told a news conference following the summit, "The president said Japan and the United States should have an equal partnership. I listened to what he talked about on the issue of nuclear disarmament, and I raised questions on an equal footing."
Regarding Japan's cooperative relations with the United States, Japan should pursue mutually complementary relations with the military superpower by expanding cooperation in a wider diversity of fields excluding the military.
At the news conference, Hatoyama remarked: "The Japan-U.S. alliance isn't limited to security arrangements. Japan and the United States can strengthen their alliance by cooperating mainly in the Asia-Pacific region in various fields including disaster prevention, medicine, insurance, education and environmental protection."
Japan's decision to extend 5 billion dollars in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan over the next five years to support the country's reconstruction efforts should be regarded as part of such efforts. It is unavoidable for Japan to extend mainly financial assistance to Afghanistan because it is difficult to dispatch personnel to a country where public order and security are rapidly worsening.
The two leaders' agreement to step up cooperation in pursuing a world without nuclear weapons and to take concerted action to prevent global warming, which they announced in a joint declaration, should also be appreciated.
Calls for nuclear arms reductions and eventual nuclear disarmament have grown louder than ever in the international community since President Obama declared in a speech in Prague that the United States will pursue a world without nuclear weapons.
The leaders of U.N. Security Council member countries unanimously adopted a resolution pursuing a world without nuclear weapons at a summit meeting in September.
In response to the move, Hatoyama emphasized that Japan has a moral responsibility as the only country that has ever experienced an atomic bombing, and urged world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It is hoped that President Obama will visit these two atom-bombed cities when he attends a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum scheduled to be held in Yokohama in November next year.
As for global warming countermeasures, a new legally binding protocol to replace the Kyoto Protocol will unlikely be adopted at a meeting of parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Denmark next month, and will be postponed to next year.
Prime Minister Hatoyama, who has announced a numerical target for substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and President Obama, who seeks international cooperation, now bears responsibility for leading efforts to work out a framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol in line with the agreement they reached during Friday's summit.
(Mainichi Japan) November 14, 2009