JOIN USHe has also vowed to make utmost efforts this year to boost employment in the country.
“It is my responsibility to respond to the fervent expectations of the new government,” he said in a New Year’s statement issued on Friday.
On the relocation of the US Marine Corps’ Futemma Air Station, Hatoyama indicated he would make the ultimate decision, but added that people should regard the issue as a public problem.
“We want to continue with steady discussions and put our heads together. After thorough discussions, I will have to make a decision on the Cabinet’s final policy,” he said. Hatoyama also indicated he wants to see progress on such issues as the elimination of nuclear weapons and prevention of global warming. On the economic front, he said he would try to seek early enactment of the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2009 and a budget for fiscal 2010, saying that economic recovery is “the people’s most pressing wish.”