G8: Obama meets with Japan's PM

DEAUVILLE, France, May 26 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and the other Group of Eight leaders met in two sessions Thursday after a working lunch in Deauville, France.

The first session was held at a circular table and the second featured Internet pioneers from Google, Facebook. Publicis, Digital Sky Technologies, Japan's Rakuten and France's Orange.

Later, Obama met on the sidelines with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan at the Hotel Royal Barrierre and expressed sympathy over the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

"All of us were heartbroken," the president said. He called the Japan-U.S. relationship "one of the strongest alliances" and pledged "the United States will stand by Japan for as long as it takes for Japan to recover."

Kan said, "The Japanese people are deeply grateful for what the United States has done."

The two leaders then conferred on economic and trade issues, and Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea.

Earlier, the leaders of the G8 industrialized countries walked to the first summit session from the Villa Le Cercel in the rain waving to a friendly crowd on the flag-draped street. Uniformed guards in gold hats with swords lined a red carpet.

Each of the 10 places at the table had a pen, note pad and silver tray with bottled Perrier water and orange juice.

Obama was accompanied by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Jose Manuel Baroso, president of the European Commission. Italian Prime Minster Silvio Berlusconi, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and European Union President Herman Van Rompuy preceded the president.

They were followed by British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The president was formally welcomed by Sarkozy at Villa Le Cercle.

The summit leaders were scheduled to dine together at Le Ciro's Barriere Restaurant in Deauville.