U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in New York on Wednesday.
REUTERS

Hatoyama, Obama avoid contentious issues in first meeting

Thursday 24th September, 06:40 AM JST

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10 Comments

bamboohat at 08:58 AM JST - 24th September

Somebody better tell the prime minister that you are supposed to unbutton your jacket when you sit down. Otherwise you look like a clueless dufus when sitting next to somebody obviously schooled in the arts of image projection.
MrUSA at 09:34 AM JST - 24th September

Maybe he was cold.
tclh at 09:44 AM JST - 24th September

Now he told Obama about Japan's assisstance in agriculture and vocational training for "local residents"...this makes perfect sense to me and what about that"vocational training for Taliban" in yesterday news when he told Brown?
Weasel at 11:56 AM JST - 24th September

Guess the honeymoon's ending quicker that we thought.
Beelzebub at 12:37 PM JST - 24th September

Sorry, JT, but for the life of me I cannot recall any time a Japanese PM and US president engaged in direct talks that involved contentious issues. The standard MO is to leave that to their underlings and just limit their encounters to photo ops like this one.
captainjohann at 02:48 PM JST - 24th September

These contentious issues brought this PM his office by people of Japan. If he cannot discuss even ; then the relationship is not mature enough.
stirfry at 04:49 PM JST - 24th September

is he still prime minister ? and is that a Texas Chainsaw mask he's wearing ?
apecNetworks at 05:16 PM JST - 24th September

I sorta understand the Hatoyama Delegation's situation. The DPJ policies are different than that of the LDP, some are "contentious", thus it is more important for the Hatoyama Delegation to get a feel for these types of international gatherings. They have been in office for less than a few days, and will need time to absorb and assess the available info the Japanese Govt. have and their recommendations. W/ adequate info and analysis, a clear path to solutions MAY manifest themselves. PM Hatoyama can make simple errors at this time due to lack of settling in to the position, thus learning may take precedence over policies at this moment in time. Japan is better off right now not making simple errors, especially w/ the list of important people he will be talking to.
Ranger_Miffy at 06:55 PM JST - 24th September

This is why the European double-breasted suits work so well.
sharky1 at 07:43 PM JST - 24th September

The mark of true diplomats...establish trust on a personal level before entering contentious areas. Hatoyama is proving to be a skilled politician.