Japan's new Prime Minister Naoto Kan made his diplomatic debut Sunday in a telephone call with President Barack Obama, reaffirming his country's alliance with Washington and promising to work hard on an agreement to relocate Marine Air Station Futenma. Naoto Kan was elected Prime Minister Friday, replacing Yukio Hatoyama who stepped down last week after breaking a campaign promise to move the Marine base off the southern island of Okinawa, according to a report of the Associated Press. Kan told Obama that relations with Washington are a «cornerstone» of Japan's diplomacy and vowed to «further deepen and develop the Japan-U.S. alliance to tackle global and regional challenges,» Japan's Foreign Ministry said. He also promised Obama to «make a strenuous effort» to tackle the relocation of Marine Air Station Futenma, it said.
