Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama attended the opening ceremony of the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in the morning of September 22 (local time).

At the opening ceremony, in front of world leaders Prime Minister Hatoyama announced Japan's reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions, stating that "Japan will aim to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2020, if compared to the 1990 level." The Prime Minister further stated that "Japan is prepared to provide more financial and technical assistance than in the past" to developing countries' efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thus proposing to the international community a "Hatoyama Initiative."

In the afternoon, Prime Minister Hatoyama held talks with Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, exchanging views on various issues including the United Nations peacekeeping operations, climate change, North Korea, and nuclear disarmament. During the talks, Prime Minister Hatoyama stated that he would consider making contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations. He also expressed his expectations for Secretary-General Ban's leadership toward the resolution of the North Korean nuclear and missile issues.

Secretary-General Ban stated that he regarded highly Japan's mid-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, as Prime Minister Hatoyama had announced, and expressed his deep appreciation for Japan's support for the United Nations in areas such as peacekeeping operations, human rights, development, and finance.

Later, Prime Minister Hatoyama held talks with Mr. Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. During the talks, Prime Minister Brown stated that the management of the world economy would require a coordination system to secure sustainable growth, in addition to overcoming the current recession. To this, Prime Minister Hatoyama said that Japan would adopt policies to stimulate domestic demand, so as to avoid excessive reliance on external demand.