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On April 12, Prime Minister and DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama spoke to the press prior to his departure for the United States to participate in the Nuclear Security Summit. He commented, “It is extremely important to cooperate internationally in order to eliminate [the threat of] nuclear terrorism from the world” and expressed the intention of making Japan’s stance on this point clear. Asked about the prospects for unofficial meetings with President Barack Obama, he responded, “I believe that it will be possible to have a variety of discussions on an unofficial basis. What is important is that we maintain and deepen our shared perception of the importance of the Japan-US alliance, while calling for mutual cooperation in obtaining a resolution to the issue of Futenma by the end of May.”
Asked for his response to the results of media opinion polls that show support ratings for the Hatoyama administration falling, Hatoyama said, “I think this is the time that we must make most effort on behalf of the people. What is important is that we have not completely succeeded in showing that we are undertaking politics on behalf of the people, and so we will devote all our efforts to this.”
Following this Hatoyama commented on the death of Japanese photographer Hiroyuki Muramoto, killed while covering clashes between anti-government protesters and Thai security forces on April 10. He said, “I feel that Mr. Muramoto’s death is truly regrettable. I would like to express my deepest condolences.” He added that he had called on Thai Prime Minister Abhisit and the government of Thailand to investigate the circumstances surrounding Muromoto’s death and to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens currently residing in Thailand, and had urged them to make every effort to ensure that the situation calms down as soon as possible.
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