Obama stresses importance of US Japanese alliance

BEIJING, November 13 (Xinhuanet) – U.S. President Barack Obama gave the first press conference of his Asian tour on Friday shortly after meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Hatoyama.

Both leaders spoke of the importance of the US-Japanese alliance and that many issues needed to be discussed. "The goal remains the same," President Obama said, "The defense of Japan with minimal intrusion."

The two leaders discussed many security issues ranging from the situation in Afghanistan to the issue of nuclear weapons development in Iran. In talking about Afghanistan the Japanese PM said he wanted to help not only financially but also in terms of logistical support such as developing the country’s educational system and police force.

Both Obama and Hatoyama stressed the importance of developing the 6-Party talks in respect to North Korea. Iran too was discussed and "further pressure" was needed, Hatoyama said.

Obama echoed this and set out his hopes for the future. "With respect to nuclear weapons and non proliferation, we share a vision of a world without nuclear weapons," Obama said, "It will take time, it may not occur in our own life times." But he insisted it was a worthwhile pursuit.

While economic issues had not yet been discussed, both leaders said they had talked about climate change at length.

Hatoyama said he had set a goal into reducing CO2 emissions by some 20 percent by 2015. President Obama on the subject of climate change said both countries had a "shared commitment of developing clean energy of the future" and said he hoped the discussions would "pave the way for a successful agreement in Copenhagen next month."

Obama is set to attend the APEC meeting in Singapore before heading to China on Sunday.