By David Pilling in TokyoPublished: Jan 18, 2006
The director of Japan's defence agency on Wednesday urged the Pentagon to make compromises on the relocation of bases in Japan, a request that is likely to strain further the patience of Washington, which is already infuriated at the slow pace of negotiations.
The US considered final a deal struck last October, in which Japan agreed to the reconfiguration of bases that will eventually lead to a reduction of 7,000 in the roughly 50,000 troops stationed in Japan.
That accord, reached after nearly a decade of wrangling, included the controversial relocation of a Marines heliport on Okinawa, the strategically important island in Japan's far south where the bulk of the US military is located.
The deal is part of a broader realignment of the US military globally, aimed at building a nimbler force better adapted to post-cold war security challenges.
On Wednesday, after a meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, in Washington, Fukushiro Nukaga, director-general of the Japan's defence agency, said he had urged further compromises with the aim of concluding an implementation agreement by March.
Kyodo news reported that, in a briefing after the meeting, Mr Nukaga refused to say what compromises he had requested.
Takao Toshikawa, a political analyst, said the topic under discussion was almost certainly the relocation of the Futenma airbase heliport function to Nago, where it will be partly constructed on the sea.
The October agreement immediately ran into opposition in Okinawa, where politicians and activists have vowed to fight it on grounds of environmental damage and the perception that Okinawa already has enough bases.
The resistance of Okinawa, a culturally distinct island prefecture often at odds with mainland Japan, calls into question Tokyo's ability to implement the deal struck at national level with Washington.
At least two of the three candidates running in this Sunday's mayoral election in Nago City, the proposed site of the heliport, have vowed outright opposition to hosting the new US facility. The third candidate, endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic party, has hinted that he may accept the base on some conditions. These could form the basis of Mr Nukaga's proposals, analysts said.
Yoshitami Oshiro, the candidate for Nago mayor who has taken the strongest stand against the proposed new heliport, said: "If I win, both the Japanese and the US governments will have to give up the base."
Mr Toshikawa said: "Even if the candidate endorsed by the LDP wins, I think it will be very difficult to persuade the people of Nago City to accept the [Japanese] government's plan."
Many Okinawans also oppose US bases because of the danger of aircraft or helicopters crashing into the often built-up surrounding residential areas. on Wednesday aides to Keiichi Inamine, governor of Okinawa, called for the suspension of air drills following the crash of an F-15 fighter jet into the sea on Tuesday.
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