Japan PM makes nice in U.S., risks lie ahead

09.25.09, 08:39 PM EDT
By Isabel Reynolds

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Japan's new prime minister Yukio Hatoyama pulled off his diplomatic debut in the United States with aplomb this week, though he tiptoed around some of the tough foreign policy challenges he needs to resolve.

After toppling the long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party in last month's election, Hatoyama worried top ally Washington with plans to steer a more independent diplomatic course from the United States and forge closer ties with Asia.

In response to concern over an essay he had published attacking U.S. "market fundamentalism", he has been forced to deny that the article was anti-American.

For Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party has the reins of government for the first time since its formation a decade ago, the marathon round of diplomacy this week from the United Nations to the Pittsburgh Group of 20 summit was a first.

But buoyed by high levels of domestic support, the usually poker-faced former academic appears to have succeeded in getting to know his counterparts without igniting any of the issues that could cause friction.

At his first meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in New York on Wednesday, Hatoyama tried to quell U.S. concerns by pledging to keep the two nations' alliance at the heart of Japanese security policy .

"Both sides avoided speaking about specific outstanding issues and emphasised creating a mood of cooperation, but we can call this a smooth start for diplomacy with the United States," the Mainichi newspaper said in an editorial on Friday.

Fortunately, the two leaders' interests seem to chime.

Hatoyama thanked Obama for his "amazing courage" in taking a lead on nuclear disarmament, an issue close to the hearts of many in Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks.

NOW FOR THE HARD PART

Other leaders offered Hatoyama -- dubbed the "alien" at home, perhaps for his unusual eyes, perhaps for his occasionally puzzling pronouncements -- an enthusiastic welcome on to the world stage.

Hatoyama has taken up a position that could help him improve ties with China and South Korea -- long haunted by Japan's history of invading and occupying much of Asia in the early 20th century -- saying he would stay away from Yasukuni, the Tokyo war shrine that many in Asia consider a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

The "history issue" was not mentioned in a summit with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, Japanese officials said, while Hatoyama even floated his idea of an East Asian community with Chinese President Hu Jintao [ID:nPEK260043].

He got on first-name terms with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and was dubbed the "star of the show" by British Foreign Minister David Miliband for a climate change speech at the United Nations, in which he reiterated his ambitious new emissions goals and offered more help for poor nations [ID:nT29371].

Europeans chimed in.

"This week, the EU gives the gold medal to Japan's new prime minister for making his commitment on climate change," Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the European Union presidency, told Reuters. "It is this sort of leadership that can get us a deal in Copenhagen and other leaders should take note."

But discussions with the United States about Hatoyama's security plans, including re-thinking an agreement on redeploying U.S. troops on the southern island of Okinawa, cloud the horizon.

Hatoyama referred to the likelihood of Japan offering humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, implying that he will fulfill an election promise to end a naval refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led military activities.

That may not go down well as violence spirals and Obama considers another troop surge to try to regain the upper hand [ID:nN21317228].

Tokyo is under pressure to come up with a concrete plan for Afghanistan ahead of Obama's first visit to Japan in November.

Hatoyama also said a solution to the military base issue may not be reached before the end of the year.

"If the issues are dealt in the wrong way, Japan-U.S. ties could suffer and domestic criticism of the government could catch fire," the Asahi Shimbun said in an editorial on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Yoko Kubota ( KUB - news - people ) in Tokyo and Darren Ennis in Pittsburgh, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)