By Arshad Mohammed
TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began a one-week Asia visit by praising the U.S.-Japan alliance and saying the United States and Asia needed to work together on the global financial crisis and climate change.
Kicking off her first trip as secretary of state, Clinton called the U.S.-Japan alliance "vitally important" as she landed in Tokyo after weeks of bellicose North Korean rhetoric and reports it is preparing for a long-range missile test.
Searching for a way to end Pyongyang's nuclear programme is likely to be one of the main topics on Clinton's trip, which also takes her to Indonesia, South Korea and China.
"I have come to Asia as my first trip as secretary of state to convey that America's relationships across the Pacific are indispensable to addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities of the 21st century," she said at an airport arrival ceremony.
"The bilateral relationship between the United States and Japan is a cornerstone of our efforts around the world," she added.
"Its foundation has been and always will be a commitment to our shared security and prosperity, but we also know that we have to work together to address the global financial crisis," she said, adding she hoped to collaborate on climate change, Afghanistan, Pakistan and curbing nuclear proliferation.
Clinton's visit comes as Japan seeks reassurance that it remains Washington's closest ally and faces pressure to take on a bigger global role.
It also coincides with reports that North Korea has made preparations to test its long-range Taepodong-2 missile, whose designed range could reach Alaska.
North Korean state media on Monday said it had the right to launch the missile, calling it part of a peaceful space program and accusing the United States and others of a "grave challenge" to question its intentions.
'HUMAN TRAGEDY'
During her three-day stay in Tokyo, Clinton plans to meet the families of Japanese citizens who were abducted decades ago by North Korean agents.
The meeting, a gesture to the faltering government of Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, follows dismay in Japan after Washington removed North Korea from a U.S. terrorism blacklist without settling the abductee issue.
"The abductee issue is an issue of grave concern. It is such a human tragedy," Clinton told reporters travelling with her as she flew to Tokyo. "We do want to press the North Koreans to be more forthcoming with information.
Clinton, who on Friday offered North Korea normal relations, a peace treaty and energy and economic assistance, made it clear that Pyongyang would have to abandon its nuclear programs first.
In Tokyo she will meet Aso and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, as well as the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Ichiro Ozawa, a step that could fan anxiety in Aso's fragile government, now struggling with a plummeting support rate and a deepening recession.
Citing sources close to the matter, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that Nakasone and Clinton were likely to agree on a meeting between Aso and U.S. President Barack Obama in March.
Clinton will head to Jakarta on Wednesday, then Seoul and Beijing.
(Writing by Arshad Mohammed and Yoko Kubota; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
