Washington  - US President Barack Obama congratulated the leader of Japan's victorious party in the elections for the lower house of parliament during a telephone conversation on Wednesday.

Obama spoke with Yukio Hatoyama, who is in line to become the next prime minister after his Democratic Party of Japan won 308 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives election Sunday, ending more than 50 years of nearly uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.

"President Obama and Mr Hatoyama stressed the importance of a strong US-Japan alliance and their desire to build an even more effective partnership," a White House statement said.

Obama pledged to work closely with Hatoyama to strengthen the global economic recovery, combat climate change, curtail North Korea's nuclear activities and confront al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. (dpa)