White House says President Obama looks forward to working with new Japan PM
U.S. President Barack Obama looks forward to working closely with the new prime minister of Japan to be installed following the Democratic Party of Japan’s landslide victory in Sunday’s general election, the White House said.
“The people of Japan have participated in an historic election in one of the world’s leading democracies. As a close friend and ally, the United States awaits the formation of a new Japanese government,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.
“President Obama looks forward to working closely with the new Japanese prime minister on a broad range of global, regional and bilateral issues,” he said.
In Sunday’s general election, the main opposition DPJ scored a landslide victory, dealing a crushing blow to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and knocking it from power for only the second time in its 54-year history.
The historic victory, which has given the untested opposition party 308 seats in the powerful 480-member House of Representatives, will enable DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama to become the new prime minister, replacing LDP President Taro Aso, who has held the premiership for less than a year.
Gibbs expressed confidence “that the strong U.S.-Japan alliance and the close partnership between our two countries will continue to flourish under the leadership of the next government in Tokyo.”
Separately, the State Department said Washington will work closely with Hatoyama’s government over such issues as North Korea’s nuclear programs and climate change.
“We congratulate Japan on this historic election and join the people of Japan in reaffirming the strong democratic tradition that we share,” department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.
“We will work closely with the new Japanese government in moving toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, addressing the threat of climate change and increasing the availability of renewable energy,” he said.
Kelly also said that among other issues to be dealt with by Washington and Tokyo are how to bring Afghanistan and Pakistan back to stability, and addressing international humanitarian and health issues.
“As Secretary (of State Hillary) Clinton has said, the U.S.-Japan alliance is strong and remains a cornerstone of peace and security in East Asia,” the spokesman said.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the new government in Tokyo to build upon our past successes and further cement this indispensable alliance,” he said.
Topics: bilateral issues, global issues, Governance, Japan, regional issues, society, United States, US, White House
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