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On November 6, Prime Minister (DPJ President) Yukio Hatoyama responded to reporters’ questions at the Prime Minister’s Residence. He expressed the opinion that the meeting with the leaders of the five Mekong River states held that day, the visit by US President Barack Obama to Japan scheduled for the following week, and the APEC summit meeting following that, “were a diplomatic schedule that might be said to comprise the core of the Hatoyama administration’s diplomacy.”
In addition, with regard to what actual measures will be taken to enact this diplomacy, Hatoyama said, “First of all, the Japan-US leadership summit is a great opportunity to confirm with President Obama that the Japan-US alliance is the lynchpin [of Japan’s foreign policy], and to work toward the realisation of a progressive deepening of the alliance.” On the subject of Asian diplomatic effects such as the meeting with the leaders of the Mekong River nations, and the APEC meeting, Hatoyama said, “Keeping the Japan-US alliance as a pivot, I would like to fully communicate my thoughts on the East Asian Community I am proposing to the leaders of the key countries involved.” He expressed his intention of fully developing a role for Japan while bearing in mind both the Japan-US alliance and relations with East Asia.
Furthermore, in response to a question regarding the ultimate scope and content of the assistance to be provided to Afghanistan, Hatoyama commented, “I believe that we need to decide on the amount of aid to be provided quickly, but I would like to provide assistance to Afghanistan keeping in mind the amount (400 billion to 500 billion yen) that was proposed in today’s committee meeting.” He added, “Under the new policy of dialogue and cooperation pursued by the Obama administration, we would also like to play a significant role within Afghanistan itself. With this in mind, we are now at the stage of finalizing individual projects.”
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