U.S., Japan to Boost Military Cooperation

Oct 29 12:04 PM US/Eastern
By HARRY DUNPHY
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States and Japan agreed Saturday to step up military cooperation and substantially reduce the number of Marines on the strategically important southern island of Okinawa.

The agreement calls for the phased withdrawal of 7,000 Marines from Okinawa to the Pacific island of Guam, a move that is expected to take six years.

There are 14,460 Marines in Japan, the largest Marine contingent based overseas. Nearly all are located on Okinawa, ideally situated for dealing with potential problems in the Pacific, such as a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Okinawans have long complained of crime ,crowding and noise associated with the Marine bases.

The agreement came after talks involving Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Japanese Defense Minister Yoshinori Ono and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura.

Rumsfeld said at a joint news conference at the Defense Department the United States and Japan "agreed to findings and recommendations to strengthen the alliance and reduce the impact of the U.S. military on local communities."

Ono said the agreement represented a "transformation of the alliance" that will provide it with "a fresh start and new energy."

The 14-page agreement said the measures Japan and the United States agreed on are "designed to enhance the alliance's capability to meet new threats and diverse contingencies and, as a whole, will reduce burdens on local communities thereby strengthening security and ensuring the alliance remains the anchor of regional stability."

It says Japan will defend itself and respond to situations in areas surrounding Japan, including addressing new threats and diverse contingencies "such as ballistic missile attacks, attacks by guerrilla and special forces and invasion of remote islands."

At the same time, the accord reaffirms the role of U.S. forces in the defense of Japan, a mission they have carried out since the end of World War II.

The two sides said they will increase military planning and hold training exercises together. This is expected to become easier next year when Japanese forces adopt a joint command structure.

Under the agreement, the United States will share with Japan use of the Kadena air base, Camp Hansen and other U.S facilities and areas in Okinawa.

A senior defense official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity because he helped negotiate the agreement, said the United States was prepared to discuss more troop movements from southern Okinawa to the northern part of the island.

The agreement says the realignment of forces in Okinawa "will include the transfer of approximately 7,000 Marine officers and enlisted personnel plus dependents out of Okinawa" to Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory seven hours by plane west of Hawaii.

It said Japan, recognizing the strong desire of Okinawa residents for a rapid force reduction, will work with the U.S. government to examine what financial and other measures it can take to help facilitate the Marine movement to Guam.

Under an agreement reached earlier in the week, Japan and the United States decided to close the Futenma Marine Air Corps Station in the crowded southern part of Okinawa and move its functions to Camp Schwab in the north.

Both sides compromised on the major sticking point in the deal: construction of a heliport on reclaimed land off Okinawa, which Japanese environmentalists had argued would threaten a coral reef, according to Japanese media reports.

The U.S. agreed to build only part of the heliport on reclaimed land but managed to negotiate a longer runway than the Japanese had sought, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

The United States and Japan followed up that agreement with an announcement Thursday that Japan will allow a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be based there for the first time.

Although American troops have been based in Japan since the end of World War II, the Japanese public has long been wary of a U.S. nuclear presence because of the fear of radiation leaks. The decision comes 60 years after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to force the Japanese empire to surrender.

Aso fails to win nod from Okinawa officials over base plan

NAHA, Japan, Nov. 25 2005 Kyodo

Foreign Minister Taro Aso was unable to win understanding Friday from the governor of Okinawa and the mayor of Nago in the prefecture over a Japan-U.S. agreement to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station within Okinawa.

Aso met with Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine and Nago Mayor Tateo Kishimoto to seek their understanding on the relocation plan, which was included in an interim report compiled at Japan-U.S. top security talks in Washington in October for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

The foreign minister called on the governor for understanding of the plan, saying, ''Japan's safety and security have been built on the premise of the existence of the Japan-U.S. security treaty.''

But Inamine said, ''The relocation plan is not consistent with the prefecture's basic idea. That's unacceptable,'' according to government officials.

Japan and the United States agreed Oct. 29 on a set of realignment plans that include relocating the Futemma Air Station and cutting by 7,000 the number of U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa.

The accord calls for moving the helicopter function of the Futemma base to an airport to be built on the coast along Camp Schwab in Nago.

''We want the central government to compile a final realignment report by taking the local community's position into account,'' Inamine was quoted as telling Aso.

Nago Mayor Kishimoto was quoted as saying the relocation plan is unacceptable because it has ''ignored'' local people's position.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Aso visited the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab in Nago to see the planned relocation site for the main functions of the Marines' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.

He said a military airport envisioned under the current relocation plan would be ''easier to build'' than an initial plan to construct an offshore airport near the camp.

But Nago Mayor Kishimoto told Aso the new plan is feared to lead to a noise problem because the relocation site is closer to private homes than the site under the initial plan is.

Speaking before a news conference later Friday, Aso indicated the central government has no intent to revise the Futemma relocation plan in its joint work with the United States toward preparing a final report by next March.

''We should work to get as much understanding as possible from the local community while basically maintaining the current relocation plan,'' Aso said.

The local communities have voiced strong opposition to the plan and criticized the government for ignoring their opinions in concluding the agreement with Washington.

It is Aso's first trip to Okinawa since he took the post of foreign minister in the Cabinet reshuffle on Oct. 31.

At least $9 billion eyed for Okinawa Marines move to Guam

(Kyodo) _ The U.S. Pacific Command has estimated that at least $9 billion, or about 1.07 trillion yen, is needed to construct facilities in Guam after the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa is transferred there, U.S. military sources said Wednesday. Japan is expected to shoulder part of the expenses for the relocation the two countries agreed on, and Tokyo plans to put up the money by enacting a special law in an unprecedented move to finance the construction of overseas U.S. military facilities.

The command envisaged the Japanese money will finance part of projects to build the unit's new headquarters, drill sites and hospitals in Guam to ensure a smooth relocation, the sources said.

The planned transfer of the Marine unit, currently based in Uruma, Okinawa, to Guam was put forward in an interim report on the military realignment that Japan and the United States adopted during bilateral top security talks last month.

The Japanese and U.S. governments came up with the relocation plan as part of efforts to cut the number of U.S. Marines in Okinawa by 7,000 so as to, Tokyo and Washington say, reduce the base-hosting burden on the prefecture.

The relocation plan involves about 6,000 Marines centering on the staff of the expeditionary force, while the remaining 1,000 will be moved to other areas in Japan, according to the sources.

November 23, 2005

FOCUS: Koizumi-Putin summit fails to break ice over isles issue

TOKYO, Nov. 22 KYODO 2005

As anticipated, Russian President Vladimir Putin's summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ended without any tangible progress over their countries' territorial row or any surprises.

With neither a joint political document nor a new proposal to speak of after the talks, Koizumi and Putin simply confirmed their commitment to continuing dialogue on the longstanding dispute over a group of islands off Hokkaido.

''We recognized the need to resolve the island ownership issue and conclude a peace treaty. But frankly speaking, there are considerable gaps between the two countries,'' Koizumi said in a news conference with Putin after their talks.

Putin said he understands that the resolution of the issue is ''not easy'' but both leaders said they will strive to find a solution to the territorial dispute in an acceptable manner.

Ahead of the talks, Japanese officials and experts believed there would be no substantial progress on the dispute, which has prevented the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty.

A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Tokyo had tried hard to issue a political document addressing the issue, but added, ''It is better not to have a joint statement at all than one that would become a setback (for Japan) in talks on the disputed islands.''

Another official said Japan should not release any statement that could be taken as a ''concession'' on Japan's part.

It is rare for leaders of two countries to fail to issue a joint political document on such an important issue, and means the road ahead will continue to be rough.

Japan and Russia have long been divided over the sovereignty of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the southern Kurils.

Japan has been demanding the return of all four islands, citing the 1993 Tokyo Declaration, which says the governments of the two countries should conclude a peace treaty through a solution to the dispute.

Russia wants to resolve the dispute in line with the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, which stipulates that Moscow would return Shikotan and the Habomai islets off Nemuro on the eastern tip of Hokkaido to Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty.

The Koizumi-Putin meeting could not have generated any better results in view of the circumstances surrounding the two countries.

Japan miscalculated in its diplomacy toward Russia, especially after Russia recently started taking a tougher line on the territorial issue, said Shigeki Hakamada, an Aoyama Gakuin University professor specializing in Russian affairs.

Russia has become tougher on the territorial row with Japan, apparently because its reliance on Japan for economic assistance has decreased amid the robust economic expansion in Russia, stemming from higher crude oil prices.

Japan and Russia ''failed to continue playing catch'' after Russia threw the ball, Hakamada said, adding Japan could have shown more wisdom in responding positively.

Hakamada was referring to Japan's sharp reaction to Putin's televised press conference in September in which the Russian president said there is no room for further discussion of Russia's sovereignty over the islands.

With the territorial issue deadlocked, economic issues took center stage in the Koizumi-Putin summit.

Prospects seem brighter for bilateral ties on the economic front, including a pipeline project that would help Japan secure oil supplies.

After the summit, the Japanese and Russian governments adopted 12 documents including ones on antiterrorism and economic cooperation measures.

In a document on the pipeline project -- another main focus of the summit -- Russia promised Japan that it will build a Pacific-bound oil pipeline linking eastern Siberia with the Russian Far East but fell short of setting a date for constructing it.

In a news conference later Monday, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi dismissed concerns that economic cooperation could put the territorial dispute into the shadows, saying Japan will continue to work toward resolving the territorial row.

For starters, Koizumi accepted an invitation by Putin to make a state visit to Russia next year. Meanwhile, Koizumi invited Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov to visit Japan also next year and Putin basically accepted it, Japanese officials said.

But if Russia's intransigence on the territorial issue continues, it could trigger ire from the Japanese government.

''It's like the Yasukuni issue,'' one Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, claiming that Russia is stubbornly making a case out of the territorial row in the way China and South Korea do with regard to Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine.

==Kyodo

Consul General Speaks to Ryukyu Shimpo on DPRI

Nov. 22, 2005

The Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper published the following interview with Consul General Thomas G. Reich about the recently unveiled Defense Policy Review Initiative (DPRI) as it affects Okinawa. Following is the gist of interview with Consul General Reich and reporter Tsuyoshi Matsumoto at the Consulate General on Nov. 22.

Photo: Consul General Thomas Reich, left, speaks to reporters Nov. 22 at the Consulate General.

Question: How would you assess the interim report on US Forces Japan [USFJ] Realignment?

CG Reich: This will lead to a substantial reduction of the base burden in Okinawa. It will make possible a faster return of the Futenma air station than the SACO [Japan-US Special Action Committee on Okinawa] report, and (the reduction of 7,000 marines) will mean the reduction of 10,000 Americans. It is also possible that most of the bases south of Kadena Air Base will be returned.

Question: Why would this mean burden reduction?

CG Reich: The Futenma base will be moved from an area where 80,000 live to one where only less than 2,000 reside. You cannot say this is not burden reduction. If the return of the base is realized, a military base that is located in a densely-populated area will be moved to the north, where there is a small population, and into a military base, too. This will be very beneficial for Okinawa.

Question: Why was an agreement reached on the plan to relocate Futenma to the coastal area of Camp Schwab?

CG Reich: The Japanese government had a strong determination to make this happen. This was the decisive factor for the United States.

Question: Governor Keiichi Inamine rejects the coastal plan and 90 percent of Okinawans oppose this plan.

CG Reich: There are two types of rejection or opposition among the Okinawans. The local residents are concerned about aircraft flying over them, but the flight route is yet to be determined. Some other people think that the bases in Okinawa should be returned gradually and should disappear, so they interpret relocation inside Okinawa to be linked to the permanent presence of bases. I can understand the ideology, but adjustment is needed to ensure the reduction of bases.

Question: Is a solution to the Futenma relocation issue the condition for the reduction of marines, the return of the bases in central and southern Okinawa, and so forth?

CG Reich: That this is one package is as stated in the report.

Question: The United States does not regard this report as an interim one.

CG Reich: I do not know where the expression interim report came from and why. The agreement was decided upon by both countries. The final report next March will spell out the concrete, detailed measures to be taken for implementation. We would like to listen closely to the local communities' opinion and incorporate this in the implementation process.

Question: Local communities in all the relocation sites all over the country are objecting.

CG Reich: We ask the Japanese government to implement [the report]. The agreement is in line with the objective of the Japan-US alliance for reliable security.> Prime Minister Koizumi says that this is in the interest of the whole of Japan, including the local communities hosting bases.

Question: Mayor Kishimoto of Nago is saying that he is willing to continue discussing revisions to the shoal option. Is there a possibility that this will be incorporated in the final report?

CG Reich: The agreement is only one month old. It is too early to discern the consensus in Okinawa. We have heard strong opinions from Nago City regarding accepting the coastal plan or a revised [shoal proposal]. We would like to communicate closely with the leaders of Okinawa.

Question: What would you like to ask from the Okinawan people?

CG Reich: I am sure there is a dilemma between accepting the agreement and enjoying the benefits of burden reduction and sticking to an ideology attractive to Okinawans and let this golden opportunity slip. We hope they will face reality and make a decision. China is strengthening its military power, and there are problems with North Korea. Okinawa is becoming geographically more important for the Japan-US alliance. The realignment proposals will be able to reduce the burden on Okinawa. I hope they understand.

Question: Is the relocation of Futenma outside Okinawa out of the question?

CG Reich: Japan and the United States studied whether all the functions of Futenma can be moved outside Okinawa, and they realized that it is impossible. In particular, they concluded that the helicopter units need to be stationed in Okinawa.

Government must heed locals on bases

Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan), Nov 21, 2005

Hidemichi Katsumata

Nov. 21--TOKYO -- The interim report on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan has caused strong resentment from communities requested to host U.S. military forces. How can the discontent be quelled?

The interim report, released late last month, says the U.S. Army will station a new Asia-Pacific command headquarters at Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture, with the Ground Self-Defense Force to establish the headquarters of its Central Readiness Force at the same base.

The report also said the 57 carrier-borne aircraft stationed at the U.S. Navy's Atsugi Naval Air Facility will be shifted to the Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

A new heliport will be constructed offshore of the marine corps' Camp Schwab in Okinawa Prefecture, as a replacement for the Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan in the same prefecture, the interim report stated.

At a meeting of prefectural governors on Nov. 11, governors whose prefectures will be affected by the realignment plan expressed their discontent with the report, saying they had not been given any briefing by the central government or opportunity to express their opinions during the negotiation process to draw up the report.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed his understanding of their unhappiness, but said: "Usually, people agree with a plan to realign U.S. forces in general, but don't compromise on areas related to their interests. If this continues, where can we relocate U.S. military facilities in Okinawa Prefecture to?"

He asked the governors to accept the report's findings.

However, Koizumi appears to have played down the difficulty of dealing with the communities asked to host U.S. forces.

In February this year, the central government postponed by half a year making any decision on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, saying it needed time to negotiate and coordinate with related prefectural and municipal governments.

Former Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono said at the time, "We aim to reach a conclusion on the issue within this year."

However, the central government was overly afraid that the contents of the realignment negotiations with Washington would be leaked.

In September, the general election cut in. Tokyo, therefore, only disclosed the contents of the report to the affected prefectural and municipal governments almost simultaneously as it was publicly released.

The central government selfishly believes the regional governments will ultimately accept hosting U.S. forces in return for certain benefits.

For example, Tokyo expects that the government of Kanagawa Prefecture--which will both lose and gain some U.S. forces--will accept the transfer of the new U.S. Army command to Camp Zama from its 1st Corps in Washington State in return for the transfer of the 57 carrier-borne aircraft to the Iwakuni air base from the Atsugi base because the planes have caused noise problems and sparked fears of accidents.

The central government also believes the Iwakuni municipal government will accept the transfer of aircraft to the base in the city if Tokyo purchases land planned by the city government as residential areas. That is because the housing land development needs a sizeable amount of funds that the city government will face problems raising.

These are good examples of the central government's disregard of related parties.

The provision to affected municipalities of revitalization programs as carrots for the facilities, which many governments seem to oppose due to the not-in-my-backyard syndrome, has been thoroughly pursued.

But if the central government attempts to settle the issue with the related municipalities in the same old way, it will be forever trivialized as a problem exclusively related with these municipalities instead of one that the entire nation should address.

Therefore, Koizumi should explain to the related municipal governments and residents the background to the drafting of the interim report, not leaving the responsibility to other ministers.

The Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment is weighted toward the maintenance of a military deterrent.

It will be important for Koizumi to present a vision to dramatically reduce U.S. bases in Japan if the potential threat from China and North Korea recedes in the future.

The word "alliance" is used four times in the first paragraph of the "overview" of the interim report. Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush also confirmed the enduring bilateral alliance during their meeting Wednesday in Kyoto.

The Japan-U.S. relationship is so important that the Japanese government cannot be allowed to fail in its negotiations with related municipalities on the realignment of U.S. forces.

Strategic changes for Japan-U.S. alliance

Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005
By RICHARD HALLORAN

HONOLULU -- Much of the American and Japanese news coverage of the new security agreement between Washington and Tokyo has focused on its political aspects but overlooked the far-reaching strategic changes it has projected for the revitalized alliance.

This pact is intended to draw together a sweeping realignment of U.S. forces in Asia and the forthcoming revision of Japan's Constitution. That revision is calculated to raise the Japanese military and diplomatic posture after six decades of pacifism that was the consequence of Japan's defeat in World War II.

Robert Scalapino, a prominent American scholar on Asia, noted the changes: "Japan wants to be a major power," he said in an interview. "It wants to be in a partnership with the United States but not in a patron-client relationship."

The agreement on Oct. 29 was the most significant milestone in a process that began nearly three years ago when the Bush administration started negotiating with Japan to reposition forces, revise command lines and make U.S. forces more flexible and responsive to contingencies.

Before the negotiations had gone far, the Japanese and the Americans agreed that they needed a basic reassessment of the alliance begun in 1952 after the postwar American occupation of Japan. "We had reached a place in our alliance where we needed to look beyond force structures and to make fundamental changes in our roles and missions," said an American official aware of the negotiations who asked not to be named.

The outcome is the document titled "U.S.-Japan Alliance: Transformation and Realignment for the Future," which has been signed by Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Minister of State for Defense Yoshinori Ohno as well as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

In a press conference after the agreement was issued, Rumsfeld said: "Like all alliances, this relationship must and is in fact evolving to remain strong and relevant." Ohno agreed, saying that the purpose of the earlier alliance was to defend Japan. Now, Japanese and U.S. forces could undertake joint operations elsewhere.

The agreement says: "These measures are designed to enhance the alliance's capability to meet new threats and diverse contingencies." Those "diverse contingencies," a term appearing repeatedly, were not specified but referred to potential threats from China, North Korea, terrorists and pirates who operate in the shipping lanes of the South China Sea.

Key to Japan's deployment of forces alongside U.S. forces is the revision of Japan's Constitution, especially Article 9, the "no-war" clause that has been interpreted as permitting Japan to defend itself but little more. A final draft is working its way through the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the legislature.

The provision pertaining to national security says that in addition to operations to defend Japan, "defense forces can take part in efforts to maintain international peace and security under international cooperation, as well as to keep fundamental public order in our country."

The new agreement says the U.S. will continue to hold its "nuclear umbrella" over Japan: "U.S. strike capabilities and the nuclear deterrence provided by the U.S. remain an essential complement to Japan's defense," it says. That renewed guarantee should also blunt a Japanese move to acquire nuclear weapons, if it appears.

The agreement further says "a common operational picture shared between U.S. forces and the SDF (Japan's Self-Defense Forces) will strengthen operational coordination." That common assessment of potential adversaries will be reflected in joint training and jointly devised contingency plans.

The nuts and bolts of the U.S. force realignment, some of which were adopted to accommodate political demands in Japan, include establishing a joint operations center at Yokota Air Base, now a U.S. base, in western Tokyo. Japan's Air Defense Command will move from Fuchu, also in western Tokyo, to Yokota.

The U.S. Army will deploy a corps headquarters at Camp Zama, southwest of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture, where Japan will set up a Central Readiness Force Command for its ground forces.

Bowing to political pressure in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, the U.S. Marines will move a headquarters and 7,000 marines to Guam, which is U.S. territory in the central Pacific. Some aircraft will be removed from a controversial base at Futenma and the airfield itself will be redesigned to move runaways away from residential areas.

These changes in Japan's military posture have raised cries in China and the two Koreas that Japan is undertaking a full-scale rearmament. Cold-eyed scrutiny, however, shows that Japan's military spending is not scheduled to rise, military forces are not slated to expand, and the defense industry remains small.

Richard Halloran, formerly a correspondent for Business Week, The Washington Post and The New York Times, is a Honolulu-based freelance journalist.

Koizumi pledges 'maximum efforts' for U.S. military realignment

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
November 16, 2005

(Kyodo) _ Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged "maximum efforts" by his government Wednesday to help realize a realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan.

Speaking at a joint news conference with U.S. President George W. Bush, Koizumi said of an interim report on the realignment, "Maximum efforts will be made by the government uniting as one so that the compiled plan will be realized."

Bush expressed hope that Koizumi demonstrate leadership on the issue.

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News

Iwakuni mayor rejects gov't explanation of relocation plan

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
November 16, 2005

(Kyodo) _ The mayor of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Wednesday rejected the Defense Agency chief's call for the city's cooperation over a plan to relocate U.S. carrier-based aircraft to the U.S. military's Iwakuni base, government officials said.

Mayor Katsusuke Ihara told Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga in Iwakuni that the city cannot accept the U.S. plan to shift the aircraft from the U.S. Navy's Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture to the Marine Corps' Iwakuni base.

"It is not too much to say the U.S. plan is like shifting the entire Atsugi base to Iwakuni, thus doubling the size of the Iwakuni base," Ihara was quoted as telling Nukaga.

Iwakuni's burden in hosting the base would increase to "intolerable levels" under the plan, the mayor added, urging the central government to scrap the plan.

Nukaga met with the Iwakuni mayor to seek his city's understanding of the relocation plan that the Japanese and U.S. governments included in an interim report for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

"The central government will do its utmost to reduce the burden on Iwakuni," Nukaga said, referring to a plan to transfer troops from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces from Iwakuni to Atsugi.

But Ihara opposed that plan, citing an expected decline in tax revenues gained from the stationing of the MSDF troops, which total more than 1,000 including their families, in Iwakuni.

The same day, Nukaga also met with Hiroshima Gov. Yuzan Fujita to seek that prefecture's understanding of the relocation plan. Iwakuni is near the border of Yamaguchi and Hiroshima prefectures.

But the governor also rejected the plan, saying, "The relocation plan is tantamount to transferring noise from Atsugi to Iwakuni."

Other Hiroshima municipalities near Iwakuni have expressed opposition to the relocation plan.

A group of air fighters currently based at the U.S. naval base in Atsugi would be moved to Iwakuni if the interim report for the realignment is finalized, possibly next year.

The interim report, worked out at the Oct. 29 top-security meeting between Japan and the United States, features a set of U.S. military relocation plans including those related to Iwakuni.

But the Japanese government has since been criticized by communities that would be affected.

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News

Koizumi, Bush to expedite realignment of U.S. forces in Japan

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
November 14, 2005

(Kyodo) _ Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush are expected to seek to expedite bilateral efforts to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan in their talks Wednesday in Kyoto, Japanese officials said Monday.

Receiving Bush in Japan for the first time in more than two years, Koizumi is also likely to offer positive indications about Japan extending its troop deployment to Iraq and reopening its beef market, as well as to exchange views on various global and regional issues with the leader of a country on which he puts top priority.

Attention is also being paid to how Bush will encourage the Japanese premier to promote future-oriented dialogue with China and South Korea amid strained ties between Japan and the two countries over Koizumi's visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

Tokyo is apparently expecting that the upcoming summit will help catalyze its effort to persuade opposing local communities to support the specific realignment plans the two countries agreed to in late October for transforming and strengthening the bilateral security alliance.

"There haven't been any in-depth Japan-U.S. summit talks recently, but we have been dealing vigorously with several issues particularly in the latter half of this year including the issue of U.S. military realignment," Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi said in a press conference Monday.

Koizumi and Bush are hence expected to "reaffirm the very importance of stable Japan-U.S. relations for world peace or the peace and stability of Asia, praise the achievements made so far and call for further constructive efforts," he said.

The agreement reached on Oct. 29 includes a reduction of 7,000 Marines in Okinawa, but local government chiefs and residents are protesting aspects such as the new relocation plan for the Marines' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa and a new U.S. Army headquarters at Camp Zama.

The Japanese government decided last Friday to expedite fiscal and other measures for the plans' implementation and is set to hold the first meeting of concerned Cabinet ministers to that end on Tuesday, the officials said.

Koizumi, meanwhile, is slated to decide by December on whether to extend the Dec. 14 deadline for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces troops' aid mission in Iraq and whether to lift the ongoing import ban on U.S. and Canadian beef.

Koizumi has said he will take into account the latest U.N. resolution extending the Iraqi deployment of multinational forces for a year when making a decision on how much longer the Japanese troops will stay for the reconstruction mission there.

On the economic front, Bush is expected to urge Koizumi to open Japan's beef and other farm markets as well as to promote further domestic reforms for Japan to figure as an engine of global economic growth, officials in Washington have said.

But the U.S. pressure over Japan's embargo on American beef, in place since the discovery of mad cow disease there in December 2003, is unlikely to be intense as Tokyo's domestic procedure for lifting the ban is under way, the officials said.

Bush may also seek Japan's compromise on tariffs and other farm issues in the Doha Round of trade liberalization negotiations ahead of a World Trade Organization ministerial meeting Dec. 13-18 in Hong Kong, which is crucial for the round's success.

The two leaders, meanwhile, are likely to discuss bilateral ties in dealing with such global and regional issues as avian influenza, nuclear and other issues with North Korea, the fight against terrorism and Iran's nuclear development.

Koizumi may refer to the Japanese parliament's recent legislation that makes it possible for Tokyo to maintain SDF maritime refueling support for the U.S.-led antiterrorism campaign for another year, the officials said.

Prior to their talks at the Kyoto State Guesthouse in the ancient Japanese capital, Koizumi and Bush are slated to visit Kinkakuji, a Zen Buddhist temple also known as the Golden Pavilion, early Wednesday along with first lady Laura Bush.

Their first talks since November last year in Santiago, Chile, are aimed chiefly at showing off the strength of bilateral ties at home and abroad, as the two countries have cleared the stickiest points involving such major current issues as the military realignment and beef trade, the Japanese officials said.

Bush will arrive Tuesday night in Japan on the first leg of a four-nation Asian tour that will also take him to South Korea, China and Mongolia.

Bush has said he intends to encourage South Korean and Chinese leaders as well as Koizumi to promote future-oriented dialogue to mend the strained ties between Japan and the two neighboring countries during his trip through Nov. 21.

Koizumi is also scheduled to visit South Korea for the Nov. 18-19 leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and meet with South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun on its sidelines.

But whether Koizumi can meet his Chinese counterpart in the near future remains uncertain following his Oct. 17 visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo despite protests from China and South Korea as the shrine honors Japan's Class-A war criminals as well as the war dead.

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News

U.S. Forces' realignment--Entering a new phase / U.S. deterrent remains intact

13 November 2005: Daily Yomiuri

The problems associated with relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture have entered a new stage following the United States' acceptance of Japan's proposal to relocate the facility to the coastal region
along Camp Schwab, in the northern part of the prefecture. This is the third installment of a five-part series focusing on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

Speaking at a National Press Club lunch in Washington on Nov. 7, Gen. Michael Hagee, commander of the 180,000-strong U.S. Marine Corps, backed a recent agreement between Tokyo and Washington to relocate some U.S. marines stationed in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam.

Hagee said, "Just as an example, going from Okinawa to Korea, we can move a battalion, with all its equipment, in just about 24 hours."

Hagee added that excellent training areas around Guam made it logical to relocate some U.S. troops to that island.

The relocation of the command of the Marine Corps' 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force (3rd MEF) and 7,000 marines to Guam is seen here as a symbolic move aimed at reducing the burden on communities hosting U.S. forces.

The United States needs to maintain friendly relations with Okinawa to ensure an environment in which it can stably run military bases.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's policy of stationing troops "in places where they are wanted, welcomed and needed" greatly influenced the outcome of bilateral negotiations on the realignment.

Indeed, his policy has resulted in U.S. plans to withdraw 12,500 of 37,000 troops stationed in South Korea by the end of 2008.

However, a genuinely decisive factor behind the reduction of the presence of marines in Okinawa was Washington's judgment that its military would be able to sufficiently maintain a deterrence in Northeast Asia thanks to the "revolution in military affairs" (RMA) doctrine.

RMA proposes a major change in the nature of warfare with the application of innovative technology. An interim report on the transformation of U.S. forces refers to surface transport capabilities, including high-speed vessels (HSVs), as a key part of the RMA concept.

It takes four days for U.S. marines to move from Guam to Okinawa aboard an amphibious assault ship. But an HSV carrying 1,000 troops can complete the journey in half the time.

Following this logic, headquarters staff of 3rd MEF, logistics and other noncombat units no longer need to be stationed in Okinawa, while Washington will retain the 31st Marine Expedition Unit--part of the Unites States' forward deployment in the Pacific--in the prefecture.

Japan, for its part, is studying whether to buy HSVs to improve interoperability with U.S. troops.

U.S. Air Force and Navy units on Guam have been upgrading their presence by deploying state-of-the-art stealth bombers and nuclear-powered submarines.

Richard Lawless, U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense for Asia and the Pacific, recently said Guam would become the most important hub for the Unites States' forward deployed troops in the Pacific. The U.S. side obviously wants Japan to help pay for the revamping of U.S. military facilities on Guam.

While the 3rd MEF command will leave Japan, the army will station a new army command--called a unit of employment (UEx)--at Camp Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, by reorganizing the army's 1st Corps in Washington state.

The army is currently in the middle of a major restructuring program called the Modular Force Initiative to make itself "more powerful, flexible and more rapidly deployable" by shifting the emphasis from divisions to brigades.

The transformation is designed to enable the army to be better prepared for small-scale conflicts involving terrorist and guerrilla attacks, rather than conventional full-scale war involving tank divisions.

In its "Military Balance 2005-2006" report, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said irregular threats such as terrorism were overwhelmingly land based, and armies would assume a major combat role against them over the next few decades.

A 1,000-strong UEx is more mobile and capable of being deployed more quickly than conventional troop headquarters. The command directs not only the army, but also the joint operations involving navy, air and marine corps.

A Defense Department official said, "The UEx can be deployed anywhere in the world, as marines corp members in Okinawa were deployed in Iraq."

The UEx to be based at Camp Zama will primarily command operations in the event of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula. But it could assume a wider role, including fighting international terrorism and engaging in humanitarian aid in a natural disaster.

In a report released in early November, Andrew Krepinevich, executive director at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, cited the challenges facing the United States as:
-- Islamic extremists.
-- A nuclear-armed India, Pakistan, North Korea and Iran.
-- The emergence of China.

Japan is geopolitically close to Southeast Asian countries with large Islamic populations, well acquainted with the arc of instability that stretches from Northeast Asia to the Middle East, and face-to-face with China.

With this in mind, the role of U.S. forces in Japan in dealing with these three "threats" is bound to grow.

Thousands of people rally against realignment of US forces in Japan

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
November 13, 2005

(Kyodo) _ Thousands of people demonstrated in Zama and Sagamihara, joint hosts of a U.S. military base, on Sunday to protest against the planned expansion of the base functions.

More than 3,000 people surrounded Camp Zama, headquarters of the U.S. Army Japan, forming a "human chain" to protest against the expansion move, part of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

In Sagamihara, about 1,700 people gathered Sunday morning to protest against the plan.

At Camp Zama, the demonstrators held hands to make a 2.1-kilometer circle three times Sunday afternoon. The demonstration was initiated by a group of assembly members of Sagamihara and Zama. Organizers put the number of demonstrators at Camp Zama at 3,200.

"Given the Iraq war and the deployment of Self-Defense Forces (in Iraq), something is wrong with the relationship between Japan and the United State," said a 31-year-old businessman who participated in the demonstration. "I feel it's dangerous."

Under the planned realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan, the U.S. Army 1st Corps headquarters will move from Washington State to Camp Zama and a Ground Self-Defense Force headquarters will be newly established in the camp.

Japan and the United States on Oct. 29 adopted a report on the plan to realign the U.S. forces in Japan, which involves U.S. military bases in Kanagawa, Okinawa and other prefectures. Concerned localities have voiced opposition to the plan, which they said would impose more burdens on them.

U.S., Japan to begin moving Marines to Guam in 2008

(Kyodo) _ Japan and the United States plan to begin moving U.S. Marine Corps troops in Okinawa to Guam in 2008 with completion by 2012, U.S. House of Representatives Delegate Madeleine Bordallo from Guam said in a recent interview.

The two nations intend to start the construction of new facilities in Guam for the Marines, for which Japan has committed to share the cost, in 2006, Bordallo said in the interview Thursday, noting that costs are estimated at more than $4 billion.

Bordallo said the construction will include housing, medical facilities, schools, utility infrastructure and bases in Guam as well as "world-class" training areas not only in Guam but also in the neighboring Northern Mariana Islands.

Bordallo made the comments based on her talks Nov. 3 with Lt. Gen. John Goodman, commander of the U.S. Marines in the Pacific, who briefed her about the Oct. 29 agreement with Japan on the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan.

As its centerpiece, the two nations agreed on a full set of measures for Okinawa, including a move of 7,000 Marines -- 6,000 to Guam and 1,000 to somewhere else in Japan -- out of the 18,000 now stationed there and an alternative plan for constructing an airport at U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago and in adjacent waters to accelerate the stalled relocation of the Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station within the prefecture.

While the agreed scale of troop reduction came as a surprise, Bordallo suggested the U.S. Defense Department has been contemplating it for some two years under the instruction of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as part of the ongoing plan to transform global military posture.

Bordallo said she knew that there would be a "certain amount of movements" since about two years ago when Rumsfeld made his first visit to Guam, during which she accompanied him.

Rumsfeld took a helicopter and looked over the Air Force and Navy bases in Guam and was "very impressed," Bordallo said.

"I think that it was then that he decided we should focus on Guam because of its strategic location in the Far East...I'm sure that things began to be planned at that point in time because later on I did meet the secretary and he said you will be very pleased with what our plans are for Guam," she said.

Guam has been advocating the relocation of Marine troops from Okinawa for years.

Asked when she believes the United States decided on the large scale relocation, Bordallo said, "It probably was a couple of years ago when they began to look at reorganizing the forces."

Given the agreement now, the first Marines from Okinawa will start arriving in 2008 after extensive construction.

"I understand that we'll see the movement by about 2008," Bordallo said. She added that Goodman "did say...he thought the entire operation would be completed by 2012."

The U.S. military has already begun looking at three different sites in Guam to set up headquarters and bases for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force to be relocated from Okinawa, she said.

A source close to the matter said Japan's Defense Agency is interested in building and using training facilities in Guam because the Oct. 29 accord calls for enhancing joint operations with the U.S. military.

As for the construction costs, the source said the estimated $4 billion is based on a local calculation that Guam's capacity for carrying out construction work is about $400 million annually and that the project will take about eight to 10 years.

But the shorter six-year goal set by the two nations will make the cost higher than $4 billion because it requires bringing in advanced construction technology and more contractors and workers from outside, the source said.

In an interview earlier this week, U.S. Defense Deputy Undersecretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless acknowledged there is a "very rough estimate" of between $3.5 billion and $4 billion but noted that this will be revised over the next few weeks as "it looked at a lower number of Marines and it might have looked at a longer timeline."

Lawless also said the two nations have set a goal of completing all agreed realignment plans in Okinawa by 2012 as an "integrated undertaking," and stressed the reduction of Marine troops will not be carried out as agreed if the Futemma relocation is not implemented.

The plan to move 7,000 Marines to Guam "would be dramatically slowed and reduced," he said.

Bordallo also acknowledged the plan could be delayed and take much longer and said the two nations are continuing negotiations over the cost-sharing.

"But I'm sure they'll come up with the right solutions. We're very good friends with Japan, and I'm sure both sides will be able to compromise with something," Bordallo said.

"We...want to continue our very good relationship with Japan not only in tourism but in business as well," she said. "We want to continue our good relationship."

The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Unbalanced and Unfulfilled

Commentary (November 11, 2005)
Mindy Kotler (Director, Japan Information Access Project)

U.S. President George Bush will soon meet with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro to affirm a number of promising agreements. Decade-long quarrels over the relocation of the Futenma U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Okinawa and of home-porting a nuclear carrier in Yokosuka appear resolved. Five long years of talks to foster greater U.S.-Japan security cooperation look successful. Japanese officials are also close to reopening their market to U.S. beef. Yet, in all cases, the negotiations were bitter and Japan's citizens remain opposed.

Americans are becoming increasingly skeptical of Japan's promises and negotiations that end simply with recommendations. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless, in Tokyo last month, argued that the U.S.-Japan alliance risks being damaged by "interminable dialogue over parochial issues." In both the security and trade arenas, legislators and negotiators exhibit frustration with Japan over a series of issues and delays that continue to mark the interaction between the two countries. Strains in "the best ever" U.S.-Japan relationship are showing.

Congressional hearings on Japan during the last week of September illustrate well some of the problems. The House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on United States-Japan economic and trade dealings, and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations convened a broader review of U.S.-Japan political and military relations. Although downplayed by the administration, dismissed as merely "letting off steam" or congressional posturing, and generally ignored by the press, these hearings were significant.

The Ways & Means Committee hearing was the most contentious. Private sector witnesses from the auto, insurance, medical device, and beef industries described a litany of still closed or manipulated markets in Japan. They pointed out that there hasn't been substantial Japanese financial reform or modernization of banking and investment laws. Transparency remains an obstacle. In fact, new regulations and laws are being proposed and enacted to limit foreign investment. Japan continues to protect a range of high-technology products. And, like China, Japan manipulates its currency.

Bush administration witnesses from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Agriculture, and the Treasury tried to emphasize the progress achieved by listing how few economic and trade disputes exist. Yet, the administration witnesses conceded that several major issues remain unresolved. Assistant USTR Wendy Cutler admitted that "while we continue to make good progress up and down the trade front, we still run into heavily reinforced bulwarks against change."

Cutler said the administration shared congressional "frustration over the glacial speed with which Japan has been moving to reopen its market to U.S. beef." She also warned that at the World Trade Organization ministerial talks, Japan "must pitch in to make substantial progress in the three agriculture pillars of export subsidies, market access, and domestic support. Frankly, the Japanese have allowed their protectionist domestic agriculture interests to prevail, and this has been disappointing." Ending, Cutler noted that "We have come a long way with Japan over the years and have found ways of doing business on the trade front that are generally yielding good results..... We have some very real trade problems with Japan today that require our focused and constant attention and engagement at all levels."

U.S. lawmakers were genuinely surprised that the 1980s issues of apple, beef, and rice are still alive. They were annoyed by the positive spin the government officials presented, pressing the officials to make more definitive statements. Ways and Means Committee staff dismissed assertions that the hearing was mere pandering to a trade constituency. The hearing had been planned since spring and postponed several times. What is significant, they say, is that there was a consensus among Democrats and Republicans on the importance of the hearing. One congressman, Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD), "thanked" Japan for "bringing the two parties together.

The Senate hearing on security and foreign policy was more nuanced and polite. Both Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless welcomed the warmer relationship between the U.S. and Japan and described how much new cooperation had occurred since 1999. Yet, like their colleagues focused on trade, both Hill and Lawless felt that there was much more to do.

There was clear frustration with Japan. As Lawless stated, "... measured against Japan's capabilities to contribute to international security, and measured against Japan's global interests and the benefits Japan derives from peace and stability around the world, these changes remain quite modest.... We can both see the trend in Japanese security policy toward a more active role in international security affairs. It is a welcome trend. But we can also see that this trend will take considerable time to reach fruition." In regard to the decade-long discussion over the relocation of Futenma, Lawless told reporters after the hearing, "we are saying to the Japanese government - you undertook this obligation in 1996 to replace Futenma, we've been waiting. It is not our fault, we want you to help us replace Futenma for the benefit of the alliance because the alliance needs this capability, as simple as that."

Most symbolic of Japan's self-absorption is the issue of continued visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. Columbia University's Gerald Curtis, who followed the officials at the Senate hearing, noted the Yasukuni Shrine and nearby museum are "not simply a shrine to honor the young men who fought and died for their country....Yasukuni is a shrine that honors the ideology and the policies of the government that sent these young men to the battlefields of Asia and the Pacific."

Continuing visits to the shrine aggravate regional relations just as the U.S. is working hard to stabilize them. Stopping visits to Yasukuni will not necessarily improve Sino-Japanese relations, but, said Curtis, "it is a necessary condition for making improvement of those relations possible." Accordingly, Prime Minister Koizumi's fifth visit to the Yasukuni shrine soon after the hearing was not seen as a positive development.

The U.S. goal of encouraging Japan to become a more internationally active and responsible modern democracy is welcome. Yet, it fails in the face of traditional Japanese business and domestic politics. In both hearings, the legislators seemed to interpret the witnesses' emphasis on relative progress as more "waiting for Japan to change." They are tired of waiting. So is this administration.

The day before the Futenma agreement was reached, an exasperated Lawless fumed, "We are trying to bring the substance of the alliance up to the level that it probably should have achieved some time ago." He is right to be concerned. The late October interim report on the "transformation and realignment for the future" of the U.S.-Japan alliance is an impressive set of recommendations - if it can be implemented. Built into the document, however, is an implicit deference to Japan's political process.

Continuation of "the best ever" U.S.-Japan relationship will have to be based on results and not mere wishes. President Bush meets with Prime Minister Koizumi in Kyoto on Nov. 16 and again at the APEC Leaders Summit in Busan, Korea a few days later, believing that both the beef and security issues have been resolved. Yet, negative Japanese public opinion, ministry rulemaking, and inevitable tariffs must still be surmounted before Japan reopens its doors to U.S. beef. The security agreement faces indignant local opposition, difficult technology negotiations, and equivocal leadership. Resolution of these disagreements may be further away than anticipated.

The Japanese government has maneuvered the U.S. into agreements structured to be delayed. Commissions, local governments, public opinion, and inter-ministerial politics are certain to justify Tokyo's continued inaction and lack of leadership. U.S. patience has its limits. There is a growing realization in Washington that brushing aside myriad differences in hopes of creating a working ally in Asia is an unsustainable policy. For now, U.S. President Bush's threshold for patience and friendship with the Japanese prime minister is the great unknown.

(Posted here with the permission of Pacific Forum CSIS)

Japan set for Cabinet approval of military realignment report

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
November 10, 2005

(Kyodo) _ The Japanese government is set to adopt in a Cabinet meeting Friday a report recently compiled with the United States on ways to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan, Japanese officials said Thursday.

The so-called interim report based on an agreement reached Oct. 29 at a "two-plus-two" ministerial security meeting between the countries was reported to Japan's Security Council on Thursday prior to the top administrative decision, the officials said.

Following the upcoming Cabinet decision, the government will enhance its efforts to persuade local governments concerned to accept the specific realignment plans prescribed in the report, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi indicated. "We will strive to get it understood," Koizumi told reporters after attending the Security Council meeting.

Koizumi also said he told Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga after the meeting to have the government and the ruling parties jointly deal with the U.S. military realignment and base issues "in unity." But a series of Tokyo visits by local government chiefs to file petitions against the realignment plan continued Thursday.

Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii and Iwakuni Mayor Katsusuke Ihara visited Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Nukaga to oppose the plan to relocate a U.S. aircraft carrier and its air wing from Atsugi Air Facility in Kanagawa Prefecture to the U.S. Marines' Iwakuni Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nii also filed a petition opposing the relocation and possible night flight landing practice with Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe during the day.

On Thursday, mayors from three cities in Hiroshima Prefecture neighboring the Iwakuni base filed a similar objection with the ministry and the agency. Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine, meanwhile, reiterated his prefecture's opposition to the new relocation plan for the Marines' Futemma Air Station from Ginowan to Nago during a meeting with Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Hidenao Nakagawa. Inamine said Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of the U.S. military presence in Japan, has called for the Futemma base to be relocated abroad.

Japan and the United States agreed Oct. 29 on a set of realignment plans that include relocating bases and operations involving both the U.S. military and Japanese Self-Defense Forces as part of a report on the transformation of their alliance. The two sides aim to conclude a final agreement in March, by which point Tokyo must convince the localities to accept the plans and cooperate to realize them.

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News

Japan denies 2012 deadline for U.S. military realignment

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
November 10, 2005

(Kyodo) _ Japan's top government spokesman on Thursday dismissed the revelation that Japan and the United States have set a goal of implementing all agreed U.S. military realignment plans in Okinawa by 2012.

"There is no fact of a 2012 deadline," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said in a press conference. Abe also ruled out that the two countries have agreed on any deadline. The revelation was made by U.S. Defense Deputy Undersecretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless in an interview Tuesday.

Referring to the Oct. 29 bilateral agreement on the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan, Lawless said, "The goal is to complete everything in six years...That means that people will have to complete their plans, begin spending money in 2006, if we want to complete this in 2012." He also stressed that the 2012 goal is "achievable."

Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News

Futemma relocation essential for reduction in Marines: Lawless

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 Kyodo [2005]

Japan and the United States have set a goal of implementing all agreed U.S. military realignment plans in Okinawa by 2012, in way that makes the reduction of 7,000 Marine Corps troops there effectively contingent upon the relocation of the Marine Futemma Air Station, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

Asked in an interview whether the agreed reduction of 7,000 Marines in Okinawa can be achieved without the relocation of the Futemma base within the prefecture, U.S. Defense Deputy Undersecretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless said, "I think it would be dramatically slowed and reduced."

Referring to the Oct. 29 bilateral agreement on the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan, Lawless said it calls for reducing the 18,000 Marines stationed in Okinawa to a "net assigned number" of about 11,000.

"It is an integrated undertaking," he said, stressing the need to implement all plans, including the construction of facilities in Guam for housing Marines to be relocated from Okinawa, as they are all part of a "big moving piece" aimed at realigning the Marines' deployment in Okinawa so as to reduce the burden on local residents while maintaining effective deterrence.

As for the cost of building the Guam facilities, which Japan has agreed to shoulder, Lawless indicated it will be more than $4 billion, acknowledging there is a "very rough estimate" of between

$3.5 billion and $4 billion but stressing this will be revised over the next few weeks as "it looked at a lower number of Marines and it might have looked at a longer timeline."

"The goal is to complete everything in six years," Lawless said, noting, "That means that people will have to complete their plans, begin spending money in 2006, if we want to complete this in 2012."

The Japanese government has committed itself to trying to convince the local communities and implementing the plans toward the "common goal," he said.

Lawless made the comments in making it clear that the agreement does not allow the Japanese government to sideline the Futemma relocation, as with the stalled nine-year-old original plan, and only seek to achieve a troop reduction and the planned further consolidation of U.S. military facilities south of the U.S. Kadena Air Base.

"So we can't have one without the other," he said.

As the centerpiece of the Oct. 29 agreement, the two nations proposed a full set of measures for Okinawa, including moving 7,000 Marines -- 6,000 to Guam and 1,000 to somewhere else in Japan -- and an alternative plan for constructing an airport at U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago and on adjacent waters to accelerate the stalled relocation of the Futemma base -- a long-standing sticking point.

But Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine and other affected local authorities have criticized the proposals and vowed resistance.

Asked if the new Futemma plan is feasible amid such local opposition, Lawless said, "The Japanese government has a high level of confidence and that is why we accepted this particular proposal that this particular facility can be built in this particular location on a reasonably quick timeline."

"So this simply requires national will," he said, giving as an example a project being pushed by the Japanese government to build a second runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

Lawless brushed off some estimates that the construction of the Futemma relocation facility will require at least eight years -- three years for an environment assessment survey and five years for actual building.

"We don't necessarily think it will take that long in the construction," he said.

Stressing the 2012 goal is "achievable," Lawless said, "It is all part of a big moving piece that we are going to try to do at the same time...But we can't very well relocate the Marines unless we are completing the relocation of Futemma and converting the current capability into our future capability."

Lawless ruled out the possibility of the two nations making major changes in the Oct. 29 accord, saying, "We don't plan to change it."

The agreement is not an interim report so there will no final version, Lawless said, adding the two nations will compile implementation plans by next March -- the target date set in the agreement for the next step.

"The document is meant to convey agreement in principle and commit both sides to working out all the implementation details by March 2006," he said.

The accord was adopted at the top security meeting of ministers in charge of defense and foreign affairs in Washington.

[ Futenma ]

Marines' move would be slowed without Futemma relocation: Lawless

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 Kyodo

Tokyo and Washington have set 2012 as the time by which they will implement all agreed plans on realigning the U.S. military presence in Japan, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

Under the plans, Tokyo will get more responsibility for security in the Pacific and 6,000 Marine Corps troops will move from Okinawa to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

Asked in an interview whether the agreed reduction in the number of Marines in Japan could happen without the Futemma Marine Corps Air Station being relocated within Okinawa, U.S. Defense Deputy Undersecretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless said, "I think it would be dramatically slowed and reduced."

It is an integrated undertaking," Lawless said, stressing the need to implement all the plans, which include building facilities in Guam to house the Marines moving from Okinawa, as they are all part of a ''big moving piece.''

Japan has committed to paying the costs of building the Guam facilities, which Lawless indicated will come to around $4 billion.

Lawless said the Oct. 29 bilateral agreement calls for reducing the number of Marines stationed in Okinawa from 18,000 to a ''net assigned number'' of about 11,000.

It calls for moving a total of 7,000 Marines from Okinawa -- 1,000 to elsewhere in Japan and 6,000 to Guam -- and for relocating the functions of the Futemma base to Camp Schwab in Nago.
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About 50,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan. Around half of them are in Okinawa, where locals complain of crime, crowding and noise in connection with the U.S. bases.

Lawless said Tokyo has committed to convincing the Okinawa communities in connection with the common goal.

"The goal is to complete everything in six years,'' Lawless said. ''That means that people will have to complete their plans, begin spending money in 2006, if we want to complete this in 2012."

Lawless made the comments in making it clear that the agreement does not allow the Japanese government to sideline the Futemma relocation as it stalled the nine-year-old original plan and seek only to gain the troop reduction and planned consolidation of U.S. military facilities south of the U.S. Kadena Air Base.

"So we can't have one without the other," he said.

Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine and other local authorities have criticized the plans and vowed resistance.

Asked if the new Futemma plan is feasible with such opposition, Lawless said, "The Japanese government has a high level of confidence and that is why we accepted this particular proposal that this particular facility can be built in this particular location on a reasonably quick timeline."

"So this simply requires national will," he said.

Lawless brushed off some estimates that the construction of the Futemma relocation facility will require at least eight years -- three for environmental assessment and five for construction.

"We don't necessarily think it will take that long," he said.

Maintaining that the 2012 goal is achievable, Lawless said, ''It is all part of a big moving piece that we are going to try to do at the same time...But we can't very well relocate the Marines unless we are completing the relocation of Futemma and converting the current capability into our future capability.''

Lawless ruled out the possibility of Tokyo and Washington making major changes to the Oct. 29 report.

The report is not an interim one, Lawless said, noting the two countries are to compile implementation plans by next March -- a target date set in the report for the next step.

"The document is meant to convey agreement in principle and commit both sides to working out all the implementation details by March 2006," he said.

The report was adopted at the top security meeting of ministers in charge of defense and foreign affairs in Washington.

Second runway considered at Naha Airport

Tokyo is considering building a second runway at Naha Airport but could face Okinawan opposition because of the plan's association with the unpopular relocation of a U.S. military base in the prefecture.

The second, 3,000-meter runway under consideration stems from the agreement reached in late October to transfer the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture. In 2002, the central government and the Okinawa prefectural government agreed to relocate the Futenma functions to a new 2,500-meter runway off the coast of the Henoko district in Nago. The new runway was to be built for both military and civilian use.

But Tokyo and Washington on Oct. 29 agreed to carry out the plan on a smaller scale and build a heliport off Henoko exclusively for the U.S. military, scrapping the initial agreement with Okinawa Prefecture. The central government intends to show that it has not forgotten Okinawa Prefecture by accepting the repeated requests for an expansion of Naha Airport.

Currently, Naha Airport has a 3,000-meter runway available for commercial airplanes and military aircraft of the Self-Defense Forces. But safety concerns have risen over air traffic congestion there. The government intends to reduce such risks by building another runway on an artificial island parallel to the existing runway.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is already conducting a survey on demand, and total construction costs are expected to reach around 300 billion yen, according to experts. But some central government officials say the new Naha runway should be available for use as a hub during emergencies, such as a military attack, the sources said. That might not go over well with residents opposed to the heavy U.S. military presence in Okinawa Prefecture.

In addition, Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine has rejected the Futenma relocation plan, saying the heliport functions should be removed from the prefecture. Residents in the northern part of Okinawa's main island where the Futenma functions will be relocated are also expected to express dissatisfaction with the Naha Airport expansion plan in the southern part of the island.

They had hoped the runway for commercial and military use off Henoko would promote business in the Nago and other areas. But with the decision to limit the heliport for military use, Nago residents feel they are being forced to endure an unfair burden. Another problem is financing. The expansions at major airports, including the Narita, Haneda and Kansai, have pretty much depleted the special account allocated for airport construction, sources said.

Bush seeks Okinawa support on plan to relocate base

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2005 _(Kyodo)

U.S. President George W. Bush expressed hope Tuesday that people in Okinawa will support the recent accord with Japan on a new plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station within the prefecture and for moving 7,000 Marines out of Okinawa, stressing that it is ''hard to satisfy all people.''

In an interview with news organizations from Japan, China and South Korea ahead of his trip to the three countries starting next week, Bush said he will call for mending the strained ties between Japan and the two nations, especially over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, through future-oriented dialogue.

Bush also stressed the importance of cooperation among the three countries, Russia and the United States to send a ''consistent message'' of seeking ''tangible results'' on North Korea's dismantling of its nuclear programs before discussing the provision of light-water nuclear reactors.

Delegates are meeting in Beijing from Wednesday for the fifth round of the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Bush expressed his support on Japan to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted by North Korea in the past.

On the economic front, Bush urged the Japanese government to follow through on the independent Food Safety Commission's draft proposal recommending a resumption of imports of U.S. beef, which Tokyo has banned since December 2003 due to mad cow disease.

When he visits Beijing, Bush said he will urge Chinese President Hu Jintao to continue to work toward a ''market-based valuation of the yuan and to address the bilateral trade imbalance by opening up markets and protecting intellectual property rights.

Bush will visit Japan, South Korea, China and then Mongolia from Nov. 15-21 for talks with his counterparts there, including Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Nov. 16 in Kyoto, and to take part in the Nov. 18-19 summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Busan, South Korea.

In Kyoto, Bush and Koizumi are expected to reaffirm their commitments to promoting the Oct. 29 interim report on the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan. The report was adopted at the top security meeting of ministers in charge of defense and foreign affairs.

But Okinawa and other local areas, which will be affected by the agreed realignment, criticized the two governments and vowed resistance.

Asked about the Okinawa realignment, which is the centerpiece of the report, Bush said, ''My message to the good people on Okinawa is, this is a good faith effort.''

''I'm aware that there is some discontent with the agreement expressed by some of the folks on Okinawa toward the Japanese government that negotiated the deal,''

But he stressed, ''It's hard to satisfy all the people all the time.''

Seeking the support of the Okinawa people, Bush said, ''It's an agreement that was not easy to bring conclusion, nevertheless because our relationship is strong and vital, we were able to do so...and it's a positive development.''

The interim report is aimed at easing the burden of U.S. military bases on local communities in Japan, while further integrating operations of the U.S. military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces to transform the strategic bilateral ties into a global alliance.

Highlighting their efforts to seek local support, the report proposes a full set of measures for Okinawa, including a reduction of 7,000 Marines there and an alternative plan for constructing an airport at U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago and on adjacent waters to accelerate the stalled relocation of the Futemma base -- a longtime sticking point.

Asked about the impact on U.S. national interests from the strained ties between Japan and China and South Korea due to the Yasukuni issue, Bush said, ''What I can do is to urge the leaders not only China and Japan to dialogue and to try to get the past behind them as we move forward, but also do the same with the South Korean leader.

Noting that Japan and the United States were ''sworn enemies'' in the past but are now ''sitting down as friends,'' Bush said, ''I think a useful role for me will be to talk about the future and talk about how optimistic the future can be, particularly as nations are able to work out past differences and focus on the future.''

Bush also stressed the importance of the three countries, Russia and the United States in maintaining their cooperation to attain the ''noble'' goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula through the six-party talks.

Referring to a joint statement of principles issued by the six parties in the fourth round that ended in mid-September, Bush said, ''We want to see tangible results in the dismantling of a program and at the appropriate time, we'll discuss the light-water reactor. That's how we interpret the agreement.''

''So part of the reason to go on a trip like this is to remind people about the strategy and to talk it out with leaders and friends, and remind them that we will stick together,'' Bush said.

In the statement, North Korea agreed to abandon all its nuclear weapons and programs in exchange for energy aid and other benefits, while the six also agreed to discuss the North-demanded provision of light-water reactors ''at an appropriate time.''

North Korea maintains that it will give up its nuclear programs only after receiving the reactors.

Asked about North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Bush reiterated his concerns about the North's treatment of its people, especially about a society that he said makes its people hungry, and its forced labor camps.

''I believe that the mark of a good leader is one that cares first and foremost about the human condition of the people who live in the country,'' he said. ''And whether starvation and hunger, the leader's responsibility is to address that.''

At the APEC and especially during his talks with the Chinese leader, Bush said he will seek cooperation and continued dialogue, especially during his talks with the Chinese leader, to deal with bird flu and the potential of a human pandemic.

FEATURE: Ex-rape victim draws on own ordeal in pushing women's rights

TOKYO, Nov. 7 KYODO

The presence of U.S. forces in Okinawa over the years has come to mean different things to different people in the local community: for some a sense of security or status symbol, for others a source of discomfort and trouble.

For Betsy Kawamura, it is a constant reminder of her ordeal in the winter of 1974 -- two years after Okinawa's reversion to Japanese rule from U.S. occupation -- that transformed her into a strong campaigner against all forms of violence against women.

''My mission in life is to stop violence against women'' and empower them to regain their self-esteem and reassure them there is help for them, Kawamura said.

Traveling between London and Oslo to create awareness of Okinawa issues, Kawamura, 43, now finds herself actively involved in a number of sexual violence and other human rights issues as she has overcome the childhood trauma of being sexually molested at the age of 12.

She recounted how a Caucasian man who was in his late 40s or 50s and wore civilian clothes stopped her outside a bookstore in her neighborhood in the city of Koza, now called Okinawa City, near the U.S. Kadena Air Base.

Although she could not explicitly identify him as an American serviceman, she believes it highly likely he was since many of the Americans were directly or indirectly part of the U.S. military in those years during the Vietnam War.

Okinawa was often a training ground for military personnel who were sent to Vietnam, she said.

Lured by his smooth talk and fearful of disobeying an older man as a ''strong male authority figure,'' she agreed to go for a ride in his car, which she later realized was a ''very, very big mistake.''

She said she did not fight back and was unaware of what was going on, saying there was no education about sexual violence at her school.

The sexual molestation then continued for several days, as the man drove her off to some remote areas in Okinawa, sometimes waiting for her to come out of her house en route to school. He also told her openly about his sexual abuse of young girls, including his own daughter.

Kawamura's ordeal ended when she and her family left Okinawa after the man had paid her $5 during their last encounter.

''I had felt disgustingly dirty and vehemently violated. For several days I would wash my hands endlessly, over and over at school and at home,'' she said, adding she could not tell her parents at the time.

Born a second-generation Japanese-American, Kawamura did not hide her disappointment when she finally told her parents nearly 10 years later and her parents just told her to forget it and discouraged her from speaking up about her experience due to the cultural and social stigmas attached to it.

''I hope parents will realize that not letting their children talk about these issues is a form of denial and neglect on their part...It is wrong of parents to deny their children the right to heal properly,'' she said.

Though she managed to acquire an MBA in the United States and worked as a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, she later suffered a breakdown leading her to be hospitalized temporarily in a psychiatric ward after losing the ability to read in her earlier 30s. She also considered several times committing suicide in subsequent years.

She later realized her condition stemmed from blaming herself for her ordeal and finally found comfort from a counselor and friends who had experienced similar things and could assure her the experience was not her fault.

Since then, Kawamura has spoken up in public on behalf of sexually violated women, especially those in Okinawa and the Asia-Pacific region.

''I had decided to 'come out' and use my name. I have even built a forum called 'Speak Up for Women' where I would really like to haveFar East Asian women come out to talk about their ordeals. I really think that people need to put a 'face' and a human person behind a personal disaster,'' she said, urging fellow victims to stand up and prevent such crimes.

According to Kawamura, the group's activities range from grass-roots level social work to approaching government and military representatives to create awareness of this problem for change and resolution.

The key to this, she said, is to open proper investigations into cases, making the perpetrators accountable regardless of when the crime was committed.

Kawamura said her anger at the U.S. military ''stems from the fact that proper accountability and acknowledgement have not seemed to take place in many instances'' citing a report of postwar U.S. military crimes against women in Okinawa covering 1945 to 1997.

Drawn up by several persons including reputed Okinawa activist Suzuyo Takazato, the report lists several cases of sexual crimes committed by the U.S. military in Japan over the years, notably the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen which caused a huge public outcry in Okinawa and resulted in many changes in the handling of U.S. military crimes.

Although things in Okinawa have improved since 1995, more still needs to be done for such rape victims.

She is aware of last year's NATO and U.S. military command decree of Zero Tolerance of prostitution and sexual trafficking and hopes to work together with them to improve the plight of women worldwide.

''Silence just perpetuates the cycle of violence,'' she said, urging victims to speak up and make perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

For further information on her activities, contact Betsy Kawamura at bkawamura10@hotmail.com.

==Kyodo