Sunday, February 28, 2010

Mainichi :: Sunday, February 28, 2010

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SDP to push overseas relocation for Futenma

    Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010
    Kyodo News

    The Social Democratic Party will prioritize a plan to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture entirely out of the country, such as to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, party sources said.

    The plan is one of three options the SDP, one of the two junior partners in the governing coalition, is considering presenting to a government committee studying the relocation of the Futenma base.

    But if the plan proves difficult to implement, the party will push two further proposals, which include accommodating drills and bases domestically.

    The SDP is likely to list about 10 domestic locations outside Okinawa as candidate sites, the sources said.

    But reservations about listing such sites remain within the party, as local governments that would be asked to accommodate drills and bases are likely to oppose the plans.

    An existing relocation plan agreed between Japan and the United States stipulates that Futenma's flight functions will be transferred to a new airfield to be built on the coastal area of the U.S. Marines Corps Camp Schwab in Nago, also in Okinawa.

    But Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government is exploring the possibility of finding an alternative relocation site.

    The SDP's top option will call for relocating Futenma entirely to either Guam, Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands, or Saipan. Under the party's No. 2 option, the base would be moved to Guam, but drills would be accommodated domestically, while the third option calls for moving the base and drills elsewhere in Japan, the sources said.

    Under the second and third proposals, the Futenma base would be closed down, but would still be used in emergencies. The use of domestic locations would also be limited for up to between five and 15 years, with the aim of moving all facilities out of the country eventually.

    SDP policy chief Tomoko Abe, who serves as a committee member, is expected to present the party's proposals to the panel, which is chaired by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano.

    The ruling coalition's other junior partner, Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), is considering presenting two plans of its own to the panel, one of which would call for building a new airfield at Camp Schwab without resorting to sea reclamation.

    The U.S., meanwhile, has described the current relocation plan as the best scenario.

    The government has pledged to come to a final conclusion on the relocation by the end of May.

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Japan Times :: Sunday, February 28, 2010

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Hatoyama, Obama 'to meet in April'



    Satoshi Ogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

    WASHINGTON--Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a summit meeting in April when the Japanese leader visits Washington, it has been learned.

    The two governments are close to finalizing the meeting, sources said Saturday.

    The talks between Hatoyama and Obama likely will be held on the sidelines of an international summit on nuclear security scheduled to take place in Washington on April 12 and 13.

    At the planned Japan-U.S. talks, the U.S. side is expected to confirm cooperation between the two countries over the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment, but to set aside the pending matter of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.

    However, what is tabled for discussion may change depending on how things develop prior to the meeting.

    After the Hatoyama administration announced it was reviewing the agreed Futenma relocation plan, the U.S. government took a cautious approach for awhile to setting up a Japan-U.S. summit meeting amid the unresolved impasse.

    There was no meeting between the two leaders in December, when they attended the 15th Conference of Parties of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, despite Hatoyama's expressed desire to hold talks with Obama.

    Since then, however, the United States has been more receptive to the idea of holding a summit meeting with the Japanese leader--a change prompted by the U.S. position on dealing with Iran.

    Japan is yet to express its support for the toughest set of sanctions that could be put forward by the United Nations, making Washington conclude it is necessary to obtain cooperation from Tokyo.

    The U.S. government plans to adopt a resolution for sanctions against Iran at the U.N. Security Council in April when Japan holds the Security Council chairmanship.

    The United States carefully planned the timing, keeping in mind that in May, Lebanon, which has close ties with Iran, will assume the post.

    Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa also plans to visit the United States in early May following an invitation by Washington. Ozawa is expected to hold talks with Obama during his visit.

    One source in the U.S. government expressed concern that if the president were to meet Ozawa, but avoids holding talks with Hatoyama, it could leave the impression that the United States had downgraded the importance of the government.

    The United States likely will stick to its policy of avoiding discussion on the Futenma issue. But as Hatoyama is aiming to conclude the issue by the end of May, some observers said the possibility remains that the issue will be brought up at the summit.

    (Feb. 28, 2010)

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Editorial :: Ditch please-all policy on Futenma relocation



    The Yomiuri Shimbun

    There seems to be no place on earth to relocate the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, that would satisfy the United States, Okinawa residents and the ruling coalition parties. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama must drop his please-all policy if he is to fulfill his pledge to solve the relocation issue in May.

    Selection of a possible relocation site by the government and the ruling coalition parties--the Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party--is proceeding with difficulty.

    The PNP has proposed two potential solutions to the relocation issue, including integrating the functions of the Futenma base with a land-based section of Camp Schwab in Nago in the prefecture. But the ruling parties have not been able to reach a consensus because the SDP is insisting on relocating the base outside the prefecture or Japan.

    However, this impasse has long been expected, ever since the prime minister avoided settling the issue at the end of last year to ensure he did not rattle the coalition framework.

    ===

    Situation worsening

    Currently, however, the situation is worsening. In January, the Nago mayoral election was won by a first-time candidate opposed to the relocation of the base to the city. And on Wednesday, the Okinawa prefectural assembly unanimously approved a written statement demanding relocation of the base outside of the prefecture or the country.

    Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, who once accepted relocation of the base within the prefecture, now says it is best to relocate the base outside it.

    This worsening scenario was predicted by U.S. President Barack Obama, who said during his talks with Hatoyama in Japan in November that the longer the decision on the relocation was delayed, the harder it would become to resolve the issue.

    Some members of the U.S. Congress said they would not approve the budget for moving 8,000 marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam until a relocation site for the functions of the base is determined.

    Delaying the relocation means both that the dangers linked to the Futenma base will remain, and that the plan to alleviate the burdens of Okinawa residents in areas hosting U.S. bases by reorganizing U.S. forces stationed in Japan will be undermined.

    ===

    Hatoyama to blame

    The current confusion should be attributed to indecisiveness by the Hatoyama administration, in particular the prime minister.

    Nonetheless, Hatoyama continues to make ad hoc remarks, hinting at the possible relocation of the base outside the prefecture.

    He said he would find a relocation site that was not just the better of the options currently on the table but the best relocation site, and remarked that he would make a decision on the issue that would ensure the current coalition government could be maintained.

    We think his words carry little weight and the prime minister has not shown awareness of his deep responsibility over the issue.

    If the U.S. marines are to be able to quickly react to a contingency, their helicopter units, at least, must be close to combat units at the other bases.

    This means that relocation of the helicopter units outside of the prefecture or Japan would badly harm the capabilities of U.S. marines in Okinawa Prefecture. Relocation of the base outside of the country would lower U.S. deterrence capabilities, meant to prevent attacks on Japan.

    The original aim of realigning U.S. forces in this nation was to alleviate the burdens of residents in communities hosting U.S. bases while maintaining the capabilities of U.S. forces stationed here.

    With this aim in mind, relocation of the base outside of the prefecture or the country cannot be an option.

    Hatoyama should no longer be swayed by the SDP's unrealistic stance in an effort to maintain the current coalition grouping. The prime minister must hammer out a clear policy on relocating the base within the prefecture as soon as possible, despite the fact that his own political clumsiness has made this difficult.

    (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 28, 2010)
    (Feb. 28, 2010)

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Daily Yomiuri Online :: Sunday, February 28, 2010




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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Government reform minister opens up press conferences

    February 27, 2010

    State Minister for Government Revitalization Yukio Edano has announced that he will make his press conferences open to all journalists, including freelance writers.

    Starting from next month, freelance journalists will be eligible to attend press conferences organized by Edano, along with other reporters belonging to the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association or the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ), the minister said.

    Such open press conferences will be held once a week, according to Edano.

    Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi have also made their press conferences open to all journalists. State Minister for Financial Services Shizuka Kamei has held separate press meetings for magazine and freelance writers following regular briefings for reporters belonging to the Financial Services Agency's press club since October last year.

    Ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa also allows freelance journalists access to his press interviews.

    (Mainichi Japan) February 27, 2010

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Biography revives memory of legendary editorialist

    February 27, 2010

    TOKYO (Kyodo) -- On June 17, 1960, seven major newspapers in Tokyo carried an exceptional "joint declaration" to express concern over a bloody clash between police and demonstrators against the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in which a female University of Tokyo student died, and to seek a quick resolution of the situation.

    The declaration was attacked by some critics, who argued the papers failed to clearly point out what they saw as the responsibility of then Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi's government for provoking such a massive protest by railroading the revision of the treaty through the Diet on May 19.

    One local paper, however, stood out by refusing to join the collective action, which also soon involved dozens of regional papers.

    "It was only The Hokkaido Shimbun that criticized the steamrolling and the violence against the demonstrators when other papers took an attitude of compromise," said Nobuyuki Ogasawara, who recently published a biography of Teiichi Suda, an editorial writer and columnist at the local paper, which is also known as Doshin.

    The joint declaration said, "The bloody incident in and outside the Diet, aside from its root cause, was a matter for great regret that placed parliamentary democracy at risk."

    "It is needless to say that the government should do its utmost to get things under control as soon as possible," it said under the headline, "Protect parliamentarism by eliminating violent acts."

    Suda, for his part, said in his front-page column on June 18, "The whole mess was caused by the May 19 tyranny of the ruling party. A doctor would be called a quack if he or she, 'aside from its root cause,' just put a plaster on (a patient's) head for a headache and on (his or her) waist for backache."

    Ogasawara, 62, who was himself once a Doshin reporter, said, "Suda stood by his words while other papers neglected to remind us who should take the blame for the turmoil, and I expect people to know through my book that there was a journalist who took a firm stand against the government" when Japan rushed to revise the bilateral treaty a half century ago.

    Born in a wealthy family in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1909, Suda initially joined The Asahi Shimbun, a major national daily, and eventually served as its Shanghai correspondent during the war, according to the biography, "Pen no Jiyu wo Tsuranuite" (Living up to the Freedom of the Press), written by Ogasawara.

    After leaving the major daily in the postwar confusion, he at one point became a high school teacher but quit, and then assumed the post of Tokyo-based editorial writer in charge of politics and diplomacy for The Hokkaido Shimbun, based in Sapporo, in 1950.

    As an editorialist, he argued that Japan should conclude an overall postwar peace treaty with the Allied Powers including the Soviet Union and China, criticizing Japan's plan to sign a separate treaty only with the Western allies. His Feb. 18, 1951, editorial noted, "I wonder how hard Prime Minister (Shigeru Yoshida) has worked for amicable relations with the Soviet Union and Southeast Asian countries."

    He also expressed concerns over the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, saying in his editorial on July 22, 1951, "If the bilateral treaty takes on the character of a Far Eastern version of the North Atlantic Treaty, hardships will lie ahead for 'independent Japan'."

    His journalistic career came to a "climax," Ogasawara said, with the front-page column opposing the other papers' joint declaration. "His standpoint to face the authorities from the perspective of ordinary people as well as vulnerable groups stood unalterably firm."

    Ogasawara, who interviewed Suda's family and his former colleagues for the book, said there existed a firm social underpinning to accept his uncompromising editorials in those days in Hokkaido, where labor unions of coalminers and teachers maintained strong influence.

    "Moreover, readers frequently visited local bureaus of the Doshin back in those days to express their views, both for and against, on its stories and editorials, and that encouraged the writers," he said. "The readers and the writers bounced ideas off each other."

    Toshio Hara, former managing editorial writer at Kyodo News, said, "The joint declaration stirred criticism that it goes against the journalistic principle that respective media should present their own political points of view" so people can get various opinions.

    "However, Suda wrote an important page in the history of journalism by condemning the declaration and keeping his critical stance to fight the major trend," Hara said. "Suda is worthy of receiving recognition as one of the leading editorialists in postwar Japan."

    Hara closely watched how the news media covered the movements related to the security treaty and other issues as the vice chair of the Japan Federation of Newspaper Workers' Unions when the declaration was carried.

    Ogasawara was entrusted with a collection of Suda's writings, including scrapbooks of his editorials and his books, by a former Doshin editor who was under Suda's tutelage before the ex-editor died of cancer in 1999. The former editor asked Ogasawara to write a biography.

    Ogasawara included as much of Suda's editorials and columns as possible in the book to show their impressive quality. "I hope young people pursuing a journalistic career will read his writings as their textbook" in order to be journalists who stand on the side of ordinary people, he said.

    Suda passed away in September 1973 at the age of 64.

    The 302-page book is published by Ryokufu Shuppan Inc. in Tokyo. It costs 2,500 yen.

    (Mainichi Japan) February 27, 2010


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SDP to accept Futenma relocation within Japan

    February 27, 2010

    The ruling coalition partner Social Democratic Party (SDP) is set to accept the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Japan as a temporary measure, party sources said.

    The SDP will submit the plan to the government panel on U.S. bases in Okinawa as a private proposal by SDP policy chief Tomoko Abe.

    The plan places top priority on the relocation of Futenma base, situated in the Okinawa Prefecture city of Ginowan, out of the country to an area such as Guam. However, if it cannot be relocated out of Japan within an acceptable time frame, the party will call for relocation to another site in Japan, on condition that the new facility's use be limited to five to 15 years.

    The SDP will propose nine sites for relocation, including uninhabited Mage Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Omura Air Base in Nagasaki Prefecture and U.S. Air Force's Yokota base in Tokyo.

    (Mainichi Japan) February 27, 2010

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Mainichi :: Saturday, February 27, 2010

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Japan Times :: Saturday, February 27, 2010

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Asahi :: Saturday, February 27, 2010




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U.S. remains adamant on Futenma issue



    Satoshi Ogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

    WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government is waiting for Tokyo's decision in May on the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Thursday.

    Reacting to the Japanese government's idea of relocating the Futenma air base to a land-based section of Camp Schwab in the prefecture and building a runway there, Morrell said: "We're closely consulting with the Japanese government on the Futenma relocation issue...But our position on the Futenma replacement facility and the overall road map, the realignment road map hasn't changed."

    He also said, "We still believe the realignment road map [agreed between the two nations in 2006] is the best way for both of us to proceed."

    Morrell added: "In May, he [Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama] said he's going to report back. We anxiously look forward to hearing what they have, what conclusions they've reached." Morrell avoided commenting specifically on the Camp Schwab idea.

    (Feb. 27, 2010)

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Daily Yomiuri Online :: Friday, February 27, 2010





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SDP eyes 3 plans for Futemma, prioritizing relocation abroad

    Feb 26 10:18 AM US/Eastern

    TOKYO, Feb. 27 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The Social Democratic Party, one of the two junior partners in the governing coalition, is considering presenting three options to a government committee studying where to relocate a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, party sources said Friday.

    The party will put priority on a plan to move the facility entirely outside of the southernmost prefecture, such as to the U.S. territory of Guam in the Pacific, as it has called for doing so.

    But if that proves difficult to implement, the next best plans will be pursued, the sources said. They include accommodating drills and bases in Japan.

    The SDP is likely to list in the options about 10 domestic locations outside Okinawa as candidate sites for the drills and bases, the sources said.

    But reservations about listing such candidate sites remain within the party. Local governments that would be asked to accommodate them are also likely to oppose such options.

    The SDP plans are expected to be presented to the panel, chaired by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, as the proposals of SDP policy chief Tomoko Abe, who serves as a panel member.

    An existing relocation plan agreed between Japan and the United States stipulates that Futemma's heliport functions will be transferred to a new airfield to be built on the coastal area of the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago, also in Okinawa.

    But Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government is exploring the possibility of finding an alternative relocation site.

    The SDP's No. 1 option will call for relocating Futemma entirely to Guam, Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands or Saipan, while under the No. 2 option, the base would be moved to Guam, but drills would be accommodated domestically.

    The party's No. 3 option calls for moving the base and drills elsewhere in Japan, the sources said.

    Under the second and third plans, the Futemma facility would be closed down, but would still be used in emergencies. The use of domestic locations would also be limited for up to between five and 15 years, with plans to move everything out of the country eventually.

    The other junior coalition partner, the People's New Party, is considering presenting two plans to the panel, one of which would call for building a new airfield at the camp without resorting to sea reclamation.

    Japan has pledged to come to a final conclusion on the relocation matter by the end of May, while the United States describes the current relocation plan as the best scenario.

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Friday, February 26, 2010

Press Conference by the Defense Minister






Press Conference by the Defense Minister
Time & Date: 09:36-09:40 A.M. February 26, 2010
Place: Press Conference Room, Ministry of Defense (MOD)

(This is a provisional translation of an announcement by the Defense Minister and the abstract of the Q&A session at the subsequent press conference for reference purposes only)

The original text is in Japanese.

1. Announcements

None.

2. Questions and Answers

Question:
Concerning the relocation of Futenma Air Station, the Social Democratic Party decided yesterday at its regular meeting of executives that they would propose at the ruling parties' Review Committee a proposal for relocation to an area in Kyushu with a fixed term for usage in addition to the proposal for relocation to Guam. The remarks you made yesterday could be interpreted to mean that you would consider mainly the proposal to relocate it to the ground area of Camp Schwab. What are your views on the Social Democratic Party's proposal? What impact do you think this proposal will have as the government compiles its proposal?

Minister:
I do not yet know the Social Democratic Party's proposal, so I cannot comment on it. In any event, the decision will be left to the Review Committee. I will state my view once I see how the Review Committee will compile its proposal. The response the Ministry of Defense will take is not something to be envisioned until that point in time. I read media reports this morning on the remarks I made yesterday; I felt as if it were a drop of water falling onto a dry sponge. I was merely expressing my view at a party for major Diet members of an allied political party.

Question:
You have expressed your desire that the Review Committee should draft a relocation proposal by the end of February. With March starting next week, does your position of calling for a prompt drafting remain unchanged?

Minister:
Yes, it remains unchanged. In fact, I told the Chief Cabinet Secretary today after the Cabinet meeting that my wish for the drafting to be completed this month remained unchanged despite today being the last day for Cabinet meetings this month, and I asked for a prompt drafting of proposal.

Question:
The Chief Cabinet Secretary has stated that relocation proposals to the Review Committee would be subject to technical examinations by a team of experts, and that members of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and US forces could take part in the team. How do you intend to advance these technical examinations or negotiations?

Minister:
My understanding is the same as that of the Chief Cabinet Secretary.
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Kamei, Fukushima at odds over Camp Schwab plan

    2010/02/26 13:29(JST)
    Click for Video

    The leaders of Japan's junior ruling coalition parties remain at odds over plans to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, southwestern Japan.

    The People's New Party proposed that Futenma's functions be moved to the US Marine Corps' Camp Schwab in Nago, also in Okinawa, involving the construction of a helicopter runway in an inland area within the camp.

    The party's leader and Financial Services Minister, Shizuka Kamei, said on Friday that his party's plan is far better than the existing one agreed upon between Japan and the United States in 2006. He said the plan will reduce the burden on the residents of Okinawa, although it will not remove it completely.

    The existing 2006 plan involves relocating Futenma's functions to a coastal area of Camp Schwab and the building of a V-shaped runway offshore on reclaimed land.

    The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Mizuho Fukushima, opposed Kamei's view. She said the PNP's plan involves building a runway closer to a residential area.

    She said this is quite contrary to the wishes of the people of Okinawa, who want the base to be relocated outside their prefecture.

    Fukushima added that the government should respect the fact that the Okinawa prefectural assembly has unanimously agreed on the idea of relocating the base outside the prefecture.

    2010/02/26 13:29(JST)
    (JST: UTC+9hrs.)

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Secret Japan-US pact considered no longer valid

    2010/02/26 10:47(JST)
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    A majority of the foreign minister's panel of experts think a purported secret Japan-US deal regarding nuclear weapons did exist but is no longer valid.

    The panel has been studying the deal, which has allegedly permitted the United States to bring nuclear weapons into Okinawa in certain emergencies. The deal is said to have been made before Okinawa reverted to Japanese rule from the United States in 1972.

    An emissary to a former prime minister, Kei Wakaizumi, who negotiated the reversion of Okinawa, later wrote in a book that then Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and US President Richard Nixon had signed a document on the deal at the White House.

    The document was not found in the offices of the Foreign Ministry but was later discovered at Sato's home.

    It bore the signatures of the 2 leaders, leading panel members to believe that the secret nuclear deal did indeed exist.

    Panel members note that the document was found at Sato's private home, although it should have been kept at the prime minister's office.

    Most of the panel members have concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that the deal was passed on to successive governments after Sato left office, and that the deal is no longer valid.

    The panel, set up by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada last year, is compiling a report, which is expected to be delivered to Okada and made public by early March.

    2010/02/26 10:47(JST)
    (JST: UTC+9hrs.)

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Mainichi :: Friday, February 26, 2010

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Japan Times :: Friday, February 26, 2010

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Asahi :: Friday, February 26, 2010




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Camp Schwab land-based idea mulled for Futenma



    The Yomiuri Shimbun

    The government may suggest to the United States in March that relocating the Futenma air base in Okinawa Prefecture to a land-based section of Camp Schwab is the most suitable way to finally settle the thorny issue that has strained ties between Tokyo and Washington, it was learned Thursday.

    Under the plan, the government would build a 500-meter runway on the land-based section located in Nago and Ginozason in the prefecture to host functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, according to sources.

    In addition, the government would relocate the Marine Corps units' training facilities located in the air station to other islands within the nation. The government is considering Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture and solitary islands in Okinawa Prefecture as candidates for new training sites, the sources said.

    The government expects the U.S. government might oppose the plan by saying the impact on training would be huge. To seek concessions from Washington, the government reportedly is considering a proposal to stretch the length of the new runway to 1,500 meters as an alternative idea, the sources said.

    The People's New Party, a ruling coalition partner, has put forward the plan as the most favorable solution to the Futenma issue.

    (Feb. 26, 2010)

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Daily Yomiuri Online :: Friday, February 26, 2010




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Japan, U.S. agree on troops' cooperation on disaster relief

    Feb 25 09:22 AM US/Eastern

    TOKYO, Feb. 25 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japan and the United States agreed Thursday during senior working-level discussions aimed at deepening the bilateral alliance that their troops should cooperate in the areas of disaster relief and humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, Japanese government officials said.

    They also plan to work out the details of how to respond to disasters such as tsunami and earthquakes by sharing the two countries' experiences, the officials said.

    The bilateral talks to deepen the alliance effectively started earlier this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of the current bilateral security treaty.

    During the talks, the two allies are expected to develop a common awareness of the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and also discuss specific areas in which they are seeking to enhance cooperation, including information assurance, cyber security, and issues associated with space.

    A review of Japan's annual state expenses for U.S. military forces in Japan is also to be discussed, but a Foreign Ministry source said that in-depth talks are unlikely to take place when the prospects are unclear on the thorny issue of where to relocate a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa.

    Under the agreements with Washington, Tokyo covers part of the expenses for U.S. troops staying in Japan, such as utility costs, and salaries of Japanese employees working at U.S. bases in Japan. The spending is often called the "sympathy" budget.

    As part of the process to deepen the alliance, the two countries have agreed to hold the so-called "two-plus-two" meeting of the four foreign and defense ministers in the first half of this year.

    They also hope to come up with a final conclusion concerning the process by November when U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to visit Japan for an annual Pacific Rim summit.

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

EPA sharply criticizes military's Guam plan

    Feb 25 12:55 AM US/Eastern
    By AUDREY McAVOY
    Associated Press Writer

    HONOLULU (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency is sharply criticizing the military's plan to move thousands of Marines to Guam, saying its failure to plan for infrastructure upgrades would lead to raw sewage spills and a shortage of drinking water.

    Further, the agency said the military's plan to build a new aircraft carrier berth at the U.S. territory's Apra Harbor would result in "unacceptable impacts" to 71 acres of a high quality coral reef.

    The EPA outlined the criticisms in a strongly worded six-page letter to the Navy regarding a draft environmental impact statement by the military.

    "The impacts are of sufficient magnitude that EPA believes the action should not proceed as proposed and improved analyses are necessary to ensure the information in the EIS is adequate to fully inform decision makers," the EPA said.

    The military's Joint Guam Program Office said it was evaluating all comments it received on its environmental study and was committed to working with the EPA and other federal agencies to find solutions.

    "The issues raised by EPA regarding the potential impacts to Guam from the military buildup are consistent with what we have heard from Guam's leaders, local agencies and the public," the military office said in an email statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

    The military plan includes moving 8,600 Marines, and 9,000 of their dependents, to Guam from Okinawa, Japan. Washington and Tokyo are jointly paying for the transfer, which is designed to reduce the U.S. military's large footprint on densely populated Okinawa.

    The letter said that at its peak, the change is expected to boost the Pacific territory's population by 79,000 people, or 45 percent, over the island's current 180,000 residents. The figure includes large numbers of construction workers that will have to move to Guam to build the new facilities.

    The EPA's letter, dated Feb. 17, was first reported by the Pacific Daily News on its Web site Thursday Guam time.

    Specifically, the EPA said the military's plan would lead to the following problems:

    —A shortfall in Guam's water supply, resulting in low water pressure that would expose people to water borne diseases from sewage.

    —Increased sewage flows to wastewater plants already failing to comply with Clean Water Act regulations.

    —More raw sewage spills that would contaminate the water supply and the ocean.

    Regarding coral reefs, the EPA said the military underestimated the effect the aircraft carrier berth would have on a resource that currently provides essential habitats for fish and endangered sea turtles and that supports commercial and recreational fishing.

    ____

    On the Net:

    EPA National Environmental Policy Act page for the Department of Defense: http://www.epa.gov/region09/nepa/dod.html

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Okinawa assembly to formally ask for Futenma base to move off the island

    By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
    Online Edition, Thursday, February 25, 2010

    NAHA, Okinawa — On the same day Japan’s prime minister said he needs to listen to the concerns of Okinawans over the Futenma Relocation project, Okinawa’s Prefectural Assembly passed a resolution asking him to move Marine Corps air operations off the island.

    In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the assembly adopted a letter it will deliver to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and other officials in Tokyo. The written request calls Marine Corps Air Station Futenma “the most dangerous air base in the world.”

    Their action comes amid a swirl of differing views on the relocation plan by Japan’s new left-center government, which is reviewing the U.S.-Japan 2006 realignment agreement that calls for building a new airstrip on Camp Schwab and Oura Bay landfill in rural northeast Okinawa.

    Hatoyama has said he will decide by the end of May whether to proceed with the Camp Schwab plan or negotiate with the U.S. for an alternate site. Some administration officials, echoing statements from their counterparts in the U.S., have said the air operations need to remain on Okinawa for regional strategic and security reasons.

    However, one minority member of Hatoyama’s coalition, the Social Democratic Party, has threatened to leave the coalition if the base operations remain on Okinawa.

    Meanwhile, in response to news reports quoting anonymous sources that his government was already engaged in secret negotiations with the U.S. concerning the relocation project, Hatoyama told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday that he needs to seriously consider the wishes of the Okinawa people.

    “If we are to settle everything by the end of May, the negotiations with and efforts to gain understanding from the people of Okinawa and the United States need to get under way basically at about the same time,” he said, according to Kyodo News.
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Relations between DPJ bigwig Ozawa, Deputy PM Kan linked to a game of 'go'

    February 25, 2010

    Whether ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) bigwig Ichiro Ozawa will play a game of "go" with Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan has drawn attention in the political world as a barometer to gauge their relationship.

    Ozawa, secretary-general of the DPJ, and Kan have played go on many occasions since the DPJ absorbed the Liberal Party led by Ozawa in 2003.

    However, their first match since the DPJ took over the reins of government, scheduled for January, has been postponed indefinitely apparently because of a series of money scandals involving political fund management bodies for Ozawa and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

    Photo: DPJ Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa plays go in this pool photo.

    Kan says Ozawa is a better go player than himself.

    A close aide to Kan describes their game of go as a political event rather than entertainment.

    "They never meet by themselves. They are accompanied by their respective aides. It's a political ceremony."

    In January, the two heavyweights were expected to play go accompanied by House of Representatives member Satoshi Arai, an aide to Kan, and House of Representatives member Tomohiro Ishikawa, an aide to Ozawa.

    However, Kan asked on Jan. 11 that their meeting be postponed as prosecutors stepped up their investigation into Ishikawa's involvement in the scandal.

    Prime Minister Hatoyama has been gradually distancing himself from Ozawa since Ishikawa was indicted on Feb. 2 on charges of violating the Law to Regulate Money Used for Political Activities. As part of the move, Hatoyama appointed Lower House member Yukio Edano, a close ally of Kan, as state minister for government revitalization.

    A DPJ legislator close to Ozawa expressed concern about Kan's moves. "Even though they are extremely busy, they could secure enough time to meet."

    (Mainichi Japan) February 25, 2010

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U.S. soldier pleads not guilty over alleged hit-and-run in Okinawa

    February 25, 2010

    NAHA (Kyodo) -- A U.S. soldier charged with negligent driving resulting in death over a suspected hit-and-run last year in Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture, pleaded not guilty Wednesday during the initial hearing of his trial held at the Naha District Court.

    Clyde Gunn, staff sergeant at the U.S. Army's Torii Communication Station, admitted that he hit Masakazu Hokama, 66, and caused his death, but denied his criminal liability, arguing that he could not predict that the victim was walking when he was driving his vehicle at around 5:50 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2009.

    Gunn's lawyer said it was completely dark at that time and was impossible to predict the presence of pedestrians, adding that since the serviceman was not aware of having caused the accident, there was no obligation for him to rescue the victim and report it to authorities.

    Meanwhile, prosecutors claimed that Gunn caused the accident on the way home from a bar in Chatan he went to after having dinner in the town.

    According to the indictment, Gunn hit Hokama, who was taking a walk, and fled the scene, causing him to die with a broken neck.

    (Mainichi Japan) February 25, 2010


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Mainichi :: Thursday, February 25, 2010

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No head-start base talks with U.S.

    Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010
    Kyodo News


    Hatoyama says local input also in the equation

    Negotiations with the United States should not come before those with Okinawa over the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday.

    He made the remark a day after sources said the government was considering starting talks soon with Washington over candidate relocation sites, possibly in the first half of March.

    This would put discussions among the coalition parties led by the Democratic Party of Japan, along with briefings for local governments, on the back burner.

    Hatoyama urged those talks to move ahead quickly.

    "If we are going to settle everything by the end of May, the negotiations with and efforts to gain understanding from the people of Okinawa and the United States need to get under way basically at about the same time," Hatoyama said at the prime minister's office.

    Hatoyama said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, who chairs a government committee studying relocation sites for the Futenma facility, is working on the timing of such negotiations.

    On Tuesday, government sources said Japan and the United States may begin examining the feasibility of alternate sites for the Futenma base in Okinawa early next month after the three ruling parties present to the government panel their ideas on where to relocate the facility.

    The possibility of building a heliport at the U.S. Marine Corps Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa, without having to fill in coastal areas for actual runways — an idea that has been floated around the DPJ — will also be examined by the two countries, the sources said.

    The DPJ is also considering transferring some drills from Futenma to Tokuno and Mage islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, which will likewise be assessed by the two countries, according to the sources.

    According to the sources, the government is considering having U.S. military personnel take part in the Defense Ministry's feasibility studies on the relocation plans to be presented soon to the panel by the ruling parties.

    The government has determined that its panel on Futenma is unable to conduct an assessment from an operational point of view and that it should be done between the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military, the sources said.

    The plan is an effort to narrow down possible relocation sites by getting U.S. input, so that the end-of-May deadline can be met, the sources said.

    Since taking office last September, Hatoyama has reopened the question of whether the Futenma facility should be moved to a less populated part of Okinawa Island, initially indicating he wanted the base moved elsewhere.

    The U.S. has urged Tokyo to abide by the original 2006 accord to relocate the base in Nago, but has also hinted it is open to alternatives.

    On Saturday, Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima told Hirano at a meeting in Naha that the central government should not go over Okinawa's head in negotiating the matter with the United States, requesting that it set up venues to discuss the issue with local governments.

    On Wednesday, Okinawa assembly members voted unanimously to adopt a written request urging the central government to relocate the Futenma base outside the prefecture.

    Representatives from the prefectural assembly will deliver the request to Hatoyama, who is under pressure to reach a conclusion on the relocation by the end of May, and the Cabinet ministers handling the issue.

    The statement will put Nakaima in a difficult position, given that he has yet to change his stance, which is to accept Futenma's relocation within the prefecture to remove the risks posed by the base in Ginowan as soon as possible.

    Referring to a crash in 2004 by a U.S. Marine helicopter on a university campus in Ginowan, the Okinawa assembly in the written request describes Futenma as "the most dangerous base in the world."

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Japan starting to balk at footing bill for U.S. forces

    Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010
    By ERIC TALMADGE
    The Associated Press

    GINOWAN, Okinawa Pref. — In Japan, where land is a precious commodity, many U.S. bases boast golf courses, football fields and giant shopping malls whose food courts offer everything from Taco Bell to Subway to Starbucks.

    They are the most visible point of grievance in a sharpening debate about the cost to Japan of supporting the 47,000 U.S. service members — about $2 billion a year. That's nearly a third of the total, and about three times what Germany pays to host U.S. forces there.

    But facing economic woes and seeking a more equal relationship with the U.S., the Hatoyama administration is questioning whether Japan should spend so much on U.S. forces — a topic that was taboo under the pro-Washington Liberal Democratic Party administrations that governed for most of the postwar era.

    Photo: Yankee go home: Demonstrators against hosting U.S. bases in Okinawa stage a rally in Tokyo last month.

    The scrutiny in Japan, Washington's deep-pocketed ally and most important strategic partner in Asia, comes at a bad time for the U.S., whose defense budget is already spread thin in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Japanese call their share a "kindness budget," implying the U.S. is getting a free ride, and its opponents say it is rife with waste. The opposition also reflects a long-standing feeling, particularly on the left, that the U.S. is taking its security alliance with Japan too much for granted.

    The alliance has come under intense pressure since Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama took office last September. He says the alliance remains a "keystone" of Japanese policy, but he wants to re-evaluate it.

    "This will be a very important year for our relationship," he said last month.

    The flash point of the debate is Okinawa, where most of the nearly 100 U.S. installations in Japan are located.

    Futenma airfield, where several thousand marines are stationed, was to have been moved from the town of Ginowan to Nago, in a less crowded part of the island. But that plan came into doubt last month after Nago elected a mayor who opposes having the base.

    Once the replacement airfield is operational, the U.S. plans to shift about 8,000 marines from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam and expects Japan to pay an estimated $6 billion of the moving costs.

    The frustrations run deep in cramped Ginowan. Local media regularly run images of the golf course at nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base and criticize the forces relentlessly whenever a service member is involved in a local crime.

    "When people who live in crowded areas in small houses drive by and see the situation on the bases, some feel angry," said Hideki Toma, an official dealing with the bases in Okinawa.

    "This is a bigger issue than the golf courses and free highway passes," Toma said. "It goes back to the fact that Okinawa was occupied after World War II and why the bases have to be here in the first place."

    That sentiment is widely shared, and underscores a feeling that the bases should be spread out more evenly among Japan's main islands and Okinawa. Okinawa was one of the bloodiest battlefields of World War II, and Okinawans feel that the continued U.S. presence places an uneven burden on them, though the argument that all U.S. forces should leave Japan is not popular.

    American officials say the deployment in Japan of troops, fighter jets and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier based outside the U.S. has enabled Japan to hold down its own defense costs in line with the pacifist Constitution.

    They say the U.S. presence also prevents an arms race in East Asia, acts as a deterrent against North Korea and counters the rise of China.

    Facilities such as on-base golf courses represent a small fraction of the sum U.S. taxpayers chip in for the defense of Japan — about $3.9 billion a year, according to a U.S. State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the details.

    "There is no difference in the facilities that our forces have here than they have anywhere else in the world, including the United States," said Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the commander of the U.S Army's Pacific Forces. "But we cannot view forces that are out here simply as Japan. They are in Asia; they are available for responsive deployment."

    Japan covers much of the cost for supporting American forces, including utilities, maintenance and physical upgrades plus the wages of tens of thousands of Japanese civilians working on the bases.

    Previous governments were too willing to pay because they wanted to maintain a special relationship with the United States, said Eiichi Hoshino, a professor of international relations at the University of the Ryukyus.

    "Japan had kept paying the kindness budget simply because it is the one that wanted the U.S. forces to stay," he said. "If the United States wants to stay here at any cost, it should be the one who is paying."

    Tokyo's share rose sharply until 2001 but has since decreased steadily, largely because of the shrinking economy and the objections of Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan when it was in the opposition. Costs have been cut, in part, by reducing utilities payments and the salaries and the number of Japanese base employees.

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