by Frank Zeller
Wed Apr 28, 2:17 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – The top US envoy for Asia held talks in Japan Wednesday on a tricky row over an American airbase that has strained ties between the allies, sparked rallies and battered the government's popularity.
Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, met senior officials in Tokyo a month ahead of Japan's self imposed end-of-May deadline to resolve the long-simmering dispute.
The row between the security allies centres on where to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, which has sparked protest rallies on Okinawa island by residents angered by aircraft noise and fearing accidents.
Campbell earlier spoke of an encouraging Japanese proposal, but both sides remained tight-lipped about its details, and Japan's foreign minister has signalled irritation at US media leaks on the sensitive negotiations.
The US envoy did not speak to reporters after his talks with his counterpart Kazuyoshi Umemoto, head of the foreign ministry's North America division, and Nobushige Takamizawa, chief of the defence ministry's policy bureau.
A brief Japanese statement said only that both sides "agreed to continue their cooperation to strengthen the alliance."
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has denied a Washington Post report Saturday, citing unnamed US officials, that Japan had broadly acquiesced to US demands and said Tuesday he was "puzzled" by Campbell's earlier upbeat comments.
There were no plans for direct talks between Okada, who was meeting his EU counterpart Catherine Ashton and then flying to Africa, and Campbell.
The dispute centres on the seven-month-old Japanese government's review of a 2006 pact to move the Futenma base from a crowded urban area of Okinawa to a quieter coastal location of the southern island, where locals also oppose it.
While the drawn-out search for alternative sites has annoyed Washington, which has long regarded Japan as its safest Asian ally, locals at those Japanese locations have also demonstrated against the base plans.
Approval ratings for the centre-left government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama have dived from last year's stellar heights into the 20-percent range ahead of upper house elections slated for July, in part because of the dispute.
As Hatoyama has scrambled to resolve the issue, Japanese media reports have said the compromise plan now being considered might in large part mirror the original 2006 agreement, with some modifications.
Runways may be built at the original relocation site in the Henoko area of Okinawa, but they may sit on a pile-supported platform rather than landfill which would destroy a large coral reef, the reports have said.
Part of the US operations may also be moved to the remote Tokunoshima island north of Okinawa, despite a mass anti-base rally there this month.
Hatoyama repeated Wednesday that he hoped to "put the final touches" to his proposal to Washington soon.
The premier then met Torao Tokuda, a former lawmaker with political influence on Tokunoshima, and told him he was considering the island as a possible site for some US military drills, Jiji Press reported.
Next Tuesday Hatoyama is planning to visit Okinawa -- where 90,000 protested against US bases last week -- to discuss the Futenma issue with Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, broadcaster NHK reported, quoting government sources.
Posts
