[Shadow Kira01]

Hatoyama not likely to change US-Japan alliance

Giving a glimpse of his views to an American audience, Hatoyama wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times last week.

"As a result of the failure of the Iraq war and the financial crisis, the era of U.S.-led globalism is coming to an end," Hatoyama wrote. But he also predicted that the United States, though declining in influence, "will remain the world's leading military and economic power for the next two to three decades."

He also said that he would not seek radical change in Japan's foreign policy, and the U.S.-Japan alliance would "continue to be the cornerstone of Japanese diplomatic policy."

"It was one thing for the opposition party to take opportunistic partisan shots at the (current Japanese) government for supporting the United States in the war on terror or paying for U.S. bases, but it is quite another to put the alliance at risk when in power," Michael Green, a White House Asia adviser during the George W. Bush administration, said in an interview posted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, where he is an analyst.

But Green said a DPJ victory could cause confusion in Washington and Tokyo "as the DPJ decides what it actually stands for in power."

Japanese analysts agreed that uncertainty is likely to remain for the time being because the DPJ's own lawmakers are unclear about what direction Japan should take on defense issues. Some DPJ conservatives want close military ties with the United States; another faction wants a more independent role for Japanese forces.

"National security is a major issue that the Democrats will have to sort out," said Takao Toshikawa, an independent political analyst. "It will be a major challenge for them to build a good relationship with the U.S. while reaching party consensus and gaining public support at the same time."