BACKGROUND: Key issues during Obama's visit to Japan

Nov 13, 2009, 9:14 GMT

   Tokyo - The following are issues expected to dominate the agenda of US President Barack Obama's visit to Japan on Friday and Saturday.

Security alliance: Japan's new government, lead by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), continues to regard the close security alliance with the United States a cornerstone of its foreign policy. However, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has vowed to change the relationship into a more equal one.

   Hatoyama's administration wants to renegotiate a 2006 deal concluded by its predecessor government, led by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, on relocating the US military base in Futemma on Okinawa island. The base is planned to be relocated to a different location on the island, but residents demand it be moved from the island altogether. The issue has led to slight disturbances in bilateral relations.

Afghanistan: The DPJ-led government said it would not renew a controversial agreement in which Japan's navy assists the vessels of the United States and other nations engaged in the war in Afghanistan by providing refuelling assistance in the Indian Ocean. The agreement expires in January. Instead, Hatoyama's administration pledged 5 billion dollars in aid for reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Japan is to support training for Afghan policemen and said it would pay half the salaries of Afghanistan's 80,000-strong police force.

Climate change: Japan and the US both demand steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and vowed close cooperation in international climate talks. Hatoyama and Obama pledged support for developing countries in their efforts which, however, exclude major developing nations such as China. Washington and Tokyo both said they would reduce their emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, and also want to cut global emissions by half. Hatoyama also announced plans to cut emissions by 25 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Global downturn: Japan's new government wants to shift the country's export-oriented economy towards greater reliance on domestic demand. Hatoyama pledged to renew Japan by increasing transparency and boosting social security - and to break the bureaucracy's hold over the state in an effort to stop wasteful spending. Savings created by these efforts should in turn help finance ambitious projects such as raising child benefits and abolishing highway tolls. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner earlier praised Japan's new economic policies as encouraging.