U.S., Japan Want Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Updated at 8:03 a.m. EDT.

The leaders of the United States and Japan say they "aspire" to reduce their countries' greenhouse gas emissions by eighty percent by 2050.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama issued a joint statement after their meeting in Tokyo on Friday saying they "affirmed their commitment to continuing to work together to usher in a new era in the global fight against climate change."

They said they agreed that shifting to low-carbon growth is indispensable to the planet's health and would help revive the global economy.

"To that end, our countries aspire to reduce our own emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and endorse a global goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by that year," the statement says.

Also, President Obama said Friday that the U.S. and Japan will work quickly to resolve a dispute over American military bases on Okinawa.

At a news conference Friday, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama recalled that he had campaigned on the issue of moving the U.S. base away from populated areas. He said the issue had to be settled quickly because delay would only cause the matter to fester.

The base issue, established by a U.S.-Japanese treaty that marks its 50th anniversary next year, is a major sore point in bilateral relations.

President Obama arrived Friday in Tokyo to shore up relations with Hatoyama's government, which has vowed to be more assertive with its U.S. ally, even as he grapples with sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Hatoyama has promised to end Japan's Indian Ocean refueling mission that supports U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and to review an agreement on relocating American troops in Japan that Washington thought was settled three years ago.

Obama arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday beginning a four-nation Asia trip, his first to the region as president.

Weighing on Obama was a pending decision on Afghan war strategy. Stopping off at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska on his way to Asia, Obama told a military audience he will only commit more forces to Afghanistan if it is vital to U.S. interests and receives public support.

"I will not risk your lives unless it is necessary to America's vital interests," Obama told the troops.

"And if it is necessary," Obama added, "the United States of America will have your back. We'll give you the strategy and the clear mission you deserve. We'll give you the equipment and support you need to get the job done. And that includes public support back home."

CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer reports that Mr. Obama's decision on the future of U.S. war strategy for Afghanistan is not expected until the first week of December, at the earliest, according to an administration official traveling with the president.

Afghanistan is a complicating factor in the trip to a rapidly changing Asia, reordering itself around China's surging economic and diplomatic clout. Obama's chief goal, the White House has said, is to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the region.

Aside from Japan, Obama will travel to Singapore, for meetings with Southeast Asian leaders, and then China and South Korea. Many governments are keen to see a revitalized U.S. engagement in part to counterbalance China, and even a newly powerful Beijing says it welcomes a continuing U.S. role in the region.

Japan, long billed by Washington as the cornerstone of U.S. Asia policy, is caught up in these shifts. Hatoyama came to power calling for a more equal partnership with Washington and a more positive embrace of China, which will soon supplant Japan as the world's No. 2 economy.

In a pre-trip interview with Japan's NHK network, Obama sought to minimize any friction and likened the election of Hatoyama's and his Democratic Party of Japan after nearly 50 years of rule by another party to a "political earthquake."

"I think that it is perfectly appropriate for the new government to want to re-examine how to move forward in a new environment," Obama said. "I don't think anybody expects that the U.S.-Japan relationship would be the same now as it was 50 years ago or 30 years ago or 20 years ago."

As part of an effort to shift focus away from difficult security issues, Obama and Hatoyama were also expected to discuss and issue a statement on climate change, nuclear disarmament and other global issues. Attempts to coax nuclear-armed North Korea - which occasionally threatens Japan with fiery rhetoric - to return to disarmament negotiations are likely to feature prominently, as is Iran's nuclear program.

Trying to relieve some of the strain on relations, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada agreed earlier this week to form a new committee to resolve the base issue. Tokyo also announced a new $5 billion aid package for Afghanistan, even as it reaffirmed a pledge to end the Indian Ocean refueling mission in January.

Obama's visit would likely increase pressure on Japan to come up with a more rounded contribution to the Afghanistan war, Japanese media said.

"Counterterrorism in Afghanistan is the most important foreign policy for the Obama administration. The U.S. expects Japan will present an alternative, which will replace Japan's naval refueling mission," said the liberal Asahi Shimbun, which ran a special page Friday that included a profile on Obama and his inauguration speech.