Obama meets with Hatoyama

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US President Barack Obama and new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama have agreed that the traditional alliance between their nations would continue.

The two leaders met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. Obama describes the US-Japan relationship as "a cornerstone" of economic prosperity and security.

Hatoyama says Japan would work with the United States. The two leaders also agreed to cooperate on efforts to tackle global warming and nuclear non-proliferation.

Their meeting came after Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-US alliance Monday.