Sep 23 10:47 PM US/EasternPITTSBURG, Pennsylvania, Sept. 23 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii indicated Wednesday that new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's policy of aiming at building an equal relations with the United States will gain understanding on the U.S. side.
"Everybody who has sound judgment thinks it is natural for Japan and the United States to be on an equal footing," Fujii told Kyodo News after arriving Pittsburg airport.
He said there is no doubt that Japan-U.S. ties will continue to serve as the linchpin of Japanese foreign policy.
Regarding a contentious essay by Hatoyama carried by U.S. media criticizing the Anglo-American global financial model and "excessive market fundamentalism," Fujii brushed aside speculation that the Hatoyama administration has any anti-American elements.
On the two-day summit of the Group of 20 major and emerging economies starting Thursday in Pittsburg, the new finance minister suggested Tokyo will continue to play a leading role in helping stabilize global financial markets.
Fujii, who assumes the post in Hatoyama's new Cabinet launched earlier this month, is visiting the United States to attend the G-20 gathering along with Hatoyama.
The G-20 groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
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