Japanese Prime Minister-elect Naoto Kan and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed early Sunday in their first talks over the phone to make efforts to fulfill a recent bilateral accord to relocate a key U.S. military base within Okinawa Prefecture ruling party lawmakers said.
During the 15-minute conversation arranged at the request of Washington, Kan and Obama also hit it off personally, having come from similar backgrounds, respectively, as a civic activist and a community organizer, according both to the Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers and a U.S. official in Washington.
"I want to make strenuous efforts based on the agreement" on the relocation of the Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, Kan was quoted by his party members as telling Obama, adding, "Japan and the United States will make further efforts."
Obama told Kan that he wants to strengthen bilateral cooperation in a 50-50 partnership and build an alliance that promotes peace and prosperity on a global scale, according to chief Cabinet secretary-designate Yoshito Sengoku and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tetsuro Fukuyama, who briefed reporters on the talks.
While emphasizing the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance, the two leaders also agreed to "work very closely together to address the many issues facing both nations and the global community, including the challenges posed by North Korea and Iran," the White House said separately in a statement.
The talks, which the U.S. official said "had an excellent tone," are apparently aimed at repairing bilateral ties strained by the previous Japanese government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama which reviewed an earlier bilateral pact on the relocation after sweeping to power last September.
Hatoyama's government came up with the new accord with Washington a week before he stepped down as prime minister Friday under pressure over the thorny issue, without gaining the consent of affected local governments and residents of Okinawa Prefecture.
Kan told a news conference Friday after being elected prime minister by parliament that he will adhere to the Japan-U.S. agreement reached May 28, having said he believes relations with the United States are the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy.
As for their backgrounds, Kan was quoted as saying in the talks, "When I see the backgrounds of the president, there are common and resonant points with my having started political activity from civic movement," and Obama agreed that they share some backgrounds, the Japanese lawmakers said.
Both said they look forward to meeting each other at the Group of Eight and Group of 20 summit meetings to be held in Canada later this month, the White House said.
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