US base to top Obama-Hatoyama meeting

US President Barack Obama will arrive in Tokyo on Friday to meet Japanese prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama. Both leaders will seek to put strained security ties on firmer footing.

Tokyo is the first stop in Obama's nine-day Asian tour.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to steer a diplomatic course less dependent on its long-time ally and forge closer ties with Asia.

Washington's relations with Tokyo have been frayed by a feud over a US military base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa. The base is home to 47-thousand US troops.

US officials want Tokyo to stick to a pact made in 2006. Under the agreement, the Okinawa base would be closed and replaced with a facility in a more remote part of the island.

But Hatoyama pledged before his election to office that the base should be moved off the island.

The media has speculated there will be no breakthroughs on the Okinawa issue during Obama's visit.

Obama and Hatoyama are expected to discuss a broad range of issues, from climate change to Japan's assistance in Afghanistan.

They are also expected to call for an 80 percent cut in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and reaffirm their stance on global nuclear disarmament.