Gates condemns Myanmar for not accepting aid

2008/05/31 21:30

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has criticized Myanmar's military government for obstructing international efforts to provide aid to its cyclone victims.

Speaking at an international security conference in Singapore on Saturday, Gates said the military government's initial refusal to accept aid cost tens of thousands of lives, and that many other countries feel the same way.

Photo: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates

In the same speech, he stressed that the US commitment to Asia will continue, regardless of which political party occupies the White House next year.

Gates called on each country to secure transparency about its military to promote mutual trust and to prevent an unnecessary arms race.
He was apparently referring to China's growing military spending and modernization.

China's deputy chief of the General Staff for the People's Liberation Army, Ma Xiaotian, strongly denied that China is becoming a threat. He said China is only working to strengthen its defense capability and has no intention to engage in an arms race or to threaten other countries.

The conference was organized by a British think tank and was attended by ministerial-level defense officials from about 30 countries.

China grateful for Japan's use of private planes

2008/05/31 20:34

China's top military commander has thanked Japan's Defense Minister for deciding to use private cargo planes, instead of Self Defense Force planes, to deliver earthquake relief supplies.

The deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, Ma Xiaotian, exchanged views with Shigeru Ishiba at a regional security conference in Singapore on Saturday.

Ishiba said that the Japanese government examined various options for transporting aid supplies from Japan to quake-hit Sichuan Province.

He says the Chinese government never insisted on using Self Defense Forces cargo planes.

He added that Japan understands and respects China's culture, tradition and national sentiment in regard to the history between the two countries.

Ma said that China and Japan share complicated historical, cultural and psychological backgrounds. But he said he thinks the Japanese people understand the ambivalent sentiment that the Chinese government and Chinese people have.

The Japanese government plans to use privately chartered planes to deliver additional aid supplies including tents and blankets to China at the beginning of next week.

Japan Urges China to Make Defense Spending More Transparent

By Patricia Lui
Last Updated: May 31, 2008 04:12 EDT

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Japan urged China to make its defense spending more transparent, saying the military budgets of both nations should use common criteria and definitions.

"Japan is transparent in its budget spending, and it wants China to be transparent," Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said during a question-and-answer session after speaking at an Asian Security Conference in Singapore today. "China's rise in military spending may not be only for self defense."

Ishiba, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and People's Liberation Army Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian are among officials conferring in formal and informal sessions at the annual conference, known as the "Shangri-La Dialogue" for the name of the hotel where it take place.

Increases in military spending aren't necessarily bad, Ishiba said, provided common, transparent budgets criteria and definitions allow for thorough comparisons.

In response, Ma said determining whether a weapons systems is offensive or defensive is a subjective matter. A missile system termed defensive might also be considered an offensive weapon if it provides an ability to attack, he said.

Ma said China welcomed the Japanese government's efforts to aid in the relief of victims of the May 12 earthquake, even though it declined to have such aid transported by Japanese military aircraft. Ishiba earlier said his nation needs to consider cultural and historical sensitivities in providing help.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Lui in Singapore at plui4@bloomberg.net

Pentagon chief says U.S. will remain Asian power

By Andrew Gray
Reuters
Saturday, May 31, 2008; 3:05 AM

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Washington will remain committed to Asia no matter who wins this year's U.S. presidential election, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the region's decision makers on Saturday.

His message at a conference of Asian security and defense officials appeared intended both to reassure allies and serve as a statement of intent to China, following Beijing's rise in economic and military power in recent years.

Photo: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (R) speaks with South Korea's Defence Minister Lee Sang-hee (L) before a ministerial lunch on the sidelines of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore May 31, 2008.

"As someone who has served seven United States presidents, I want to convey to you with confidence that any future U.S. administration's Asia security policy is going to be grounded in the fact that the United States remains a nation with strong and enduring interests in this region," Gates said.

"I can assure you that the United States -- because of our interests and because of our values -- will not only remain engaged, but will become even more so in the decades ahead," the former Central Intelligence Agency chief said.

Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore, Gates tried to strike a balance in comments on China. U.S. officials said he wanted to make Washington's views clear without creating an open confrontation with Beijing.

Gates offered praise, citing Beijing's "valued cooperation" in North Korean nuclear talks, and avoided direct criticism.

But he also alluded to subjects which have been contentious, such as repeated U.S. calls for greater transparency in Chinese military budgets.

Japan's Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba also called on China to be clearer about its spending and intentions.

CHINA PUSHES BACK

But Lt. Gen. Ma Xiao Tian, deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, shot back at the same conference, saying his country's defense spending was "at a low level" compared to other developed nations' budgets.

He said about two-thirds of Chinese defense spending went on costs such as maintenance and training.

He also offered implicit criticism of U.S. missile defense efforts, describing such systems as "not purely defensive."

"China is a peace-loving country and its people is a peace-loving people," he said. "We are a military threat to no other country."

China's growing prosperity has been accompanied by double-digit rises in military spending and a drive to modernize its armed forces and their equipment.

Beijing has said it will boost defense spending by 17.6 percent this year to 418 billion yuan ($60.2 billion).

The Pentagon and Western analysts say China's true military spending could be two or three times the official amount. But it is still dwarfed by the Pentagon's budget of more than $500 billion, which does not include war costs.

Gates said Washington wanted to work with all Asian nations to understand their military budgets and decisions so that miscalculations could be avoided.

By describing U.S. efforts to reassure the world ahead of its shootdown of a defunct satellite in February, Gates also drew an implicit contrast with China's own satellite shootdown a year earlier which was not announced in advance.

"Transparency enhances confidence and reduces competitive arms spending," he said. "The same applies to the way in which sovereign governments make their national security decisions."

(Editing by David Fox)

Ishiba, Gates confirm steady implementation of military realignment pact

May 31 02:30 AM US/Eastern

(AP) - SINGAPORE, May 31 (Kyodo) — Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday confirmed the steady implementation of a 2006 bilateral accord on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, Japanese officials said.

The accord includes the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in the densely populated central Okinawa city of Ginowan to Nago in the same prefecture. But talks have been stalled between Japan's central government and municipalities in Okinawa over the plan to construct an airfield to relocate the U.S. base.

Gates thanked Japan for resuming operations to refuel ships participating in U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in the Indian Ocean and Ishiba replied Japan will continue to cooperate for international peace and stability, the officials said.

Ishiba and Gates, who met on the sidelines of an international security meeting here, are believed to have exchanged view on China's growing military power and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

China defends military spending, Japan seeks transparency

AFP - Saturday, May 31

SINGAPORE, May 31, 2008 (AFP) - A senior Chinese general on Saturday defended his nation's increased military spending while rival Asian power Japan sought greater transparency at a high-level security forum.

Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, said China's build-up is a logical result of its rising economic power and does not threaten other countries.

Photo: (left-right) Shigeru Ishiba, John Chipman and Ma Xiaotian in Singapore

"Notwithstanding the vicissitudes of the international situation, China will always adopt a defensive defence policy," he said in a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue.

"We are not engaging in an arms race. We are a military threat to no other country. We shall never seek hegemony or expansionism," he told defence officials and experts.

Ma said China had to guard a 22,800-kilometre (14,135 mile) land border, 32,000 kilometres of coastline and a total maritime area of more than 4.7 million square kilometres.

"History tells us that we must rely on ourselves for sufficient defensive capabilities in order to survive," he said.

"To maintain territorial integrity and protect our maritime interests is our unshirkable responsibility."

At a question-and-answer session with delegates after Ma's speech, Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tokyo was not opposed to its neighbour's increased defence spending but called for greater transparency.

"When you look at the enhancement of the defence capability of China, I wonder whether that was only aimed at protecting itself. I sometimes wonder, maybe that is not the only intention when you look at the ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons and other factors," he said.

Japan has been working to repair often tense ties with China but has also repeatedly voiced unease over its neighbour's rising military spending.

"We are not regarding China as a threat, no. However, what sort of capabilities, for what purpose? To what extent a country has in its military capability, a country has to be transparent," Ishiba said.

"Japan tries to be transparent. I want to see the same transparency in China as well."

China in March said its defence spending would rise 17.6 percent this year to 417.8 billion yuan (57.2 billion US dollars). The figure represents 1.4 percent of gross domestic product last year, compared with 4.6 percent in the United States and three percent in Britain, it said.

Many Chinese are still deeply resentful of Japan's World War II aggression. Japan on Friday said it had decided not to send military aircraft to deliver aid to Chinese earthquake survivors amid concern their first mission there since World War II would create resentment.

The US defence department has expressed concern about China's growing military might, saying a lack of transparency posed risks to regional and international stability.

China's military spending in 2007 was between 97 and 139 billion dollars, well in excess of Beijing's official budgeted figure of 45 billion dollars, it said.

It also raised concerns over China's development of cruise and ballistic missiles, its testing of an anti-satellite weapon last year and an apparent rise in cyber-espionage.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who is attending the Singapore forum, also urged openness in Asia's military modernisation but did not mention any particular country.

"Transparency enhances confidence and reduces competitive arms spending," he said.

"We desire to work with every country in Asia to deepen our understanding of their military and defence finances, and larger national security decisions."

In an apparent dig at the United States, but also without naming any country, Ma criticised the "expansion" of military alliances and the placing of missile defence systems in space.

The US military is hoping to establish a limited anti-missile shield comprising interceptors and a tracking radar in Europe to defend against what Washington calls threats from "rogue states" such as Iran.

U.S. defense chief sees continued U.S. engagement in Asia after Bush

May 31 01:43 AM US/Eastern

SINGAPORE, May 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — American engagement in Asia would remain a top priority for a next U.S. administration, regardless of the results of this year's presidential election, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday.

"We work to ensure that the United States continues to be welcomed in this part of the world," Gates said in a speech at the Asian security forum here, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

The new U.S. administration which will take over the administration of President George W. Bush next year will "work with Asian leaders to identify these trends and make them work for the benefit of Asia," he said.

"The next U.S. administration seems certain to continue the long standing security partnerships" as "American engagement in Asia remains a top priority," Gates said.

Gates also said any new regional security arrangement should not exclude the United States.

"One can hardly suggest that it is appropriate for Europe, the Middle East and Africa to develop regional security institutions, but not for Asia to do so," he said.

"We welcome the resulting search for a new security architecture," Gates said. "However we do have some benchmarks," such as "exclusion of no single country."

He expressed U.S. "willingness to work with partners and friends to facilitate the evolution of security arrangements suitable to our common needs."

Gates emphasized the importance of U.S. ties with Japan, especially their enduring bilateral security alliance.

"The U.S. has a longstanding deep security relationship and alliance with Japan, and we have to remember the priority that we have to give that."

At the same time, he said Washington would also like to see better ties between China and Japan.

"The U.S. has every interest in an improved relationship between China and Japan. If there are ways we can contribute to that, consistent with our relations with Japan, we are willing to be helpful."

On the North Korean peninsula issue, he dismissed any speculation of a growing disparity in view between the United States and South Korea on how to tackle the issue, saying "there is a good alignment" between them.

There is also "no change in our drive to temper North Korea"s nuclear ambition," while stressing the importance of China's role in the talks.

On Myanmar, Gates said the United States plans to continue to help Myanmar recover from the recent cyclone disaster.

He said that despite the obstacles in getting foreign humanitarian aid into Myanmar, "we continue to get help into Burma and the United States remains poised to provide more."

However he said in response to a question later that the United States "does not support forced assistance and respects the sovereignty of Burma."

Defense ministers and top military officials from almost 30 nations are attending the three-day annual forum, organized by the London- based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Gates Warns China Not to Bully Region on Energy

By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: May 31, 2008

SINGAPORE — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates issued a set of thinly veiled warnings to China on Saturday, cautioning that it could risk its share of further gains in Asia’s economic prosperity if it bullied its neighbors over natural resources in contested areas like the South China Sea.

Three years ago at the same lectern here, Mr. Gates’s predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld, bluntly criticized China’s swift military buildup. Last year Mr. Gates struck a more conciliatory tone, saying Beijing and Washington had a chance to “build trust over time.”

Mr. Gates seemed to take a third approach in his remarks to a major regional Asia security conference here, seeking to lay down clear markers of continued American commitments to the region while also obliquely criticizing China.

He said that in his four trips to Asia since becoming defense secretary 18 months ago, several countries had expressed concern about “the security implications of rising demand for resources” (translation: China’s voracious quest for new sources of energy) and about “coercive diplomacy” (translation: China’s contested claims of resource-rich territorial waters).

Mr. Gates said there were rewards for playing by an international set of rules in a transparent way. “We should not forget that globalization has permitted our shared rise in wealth over recent decades,” he said. “This achievement rests above all on openness: openness of trade, openness of ideas, and openness of what I would call the ‘common areas’ — whether in the maritime, space, or cyber domains.”

The secretary specifically praised Beijing twice, noting that he had recently set up a telephone hot line with his Chinese defense counterpart and that the American-backed, six-party negotiations intended to temper North Korea’s nuclear ambitions “would not be possible without China’s valued cooperation.”

Otherwise, Mr. Gates spoke in a diplomatic code that his senior aides said would be clearly understood not only in Beijing but also in other Asian capitals and by the hundreds of security experts attending the annual regional conference sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Mr. Gates and his aides had debated just how blunt he ought to be in his address, which opened the Saturday session. In the end, aides said, he accepted the argument that taking a more direct approach would play to Beijing’s advantage and that a subtler, more indirect tack would win more support among Asian allies.

In the speech he recalled disputes in the mid-1990s between China and its neighbors over competing boundary and resource claims in the South China Sea, tensions that have resurfaced among China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

“We urged then, as we do today, the maintenance of a calm and nonassertive environment in which contending claims may be discussed and, if possible, resolved,” he said.

Mr. Gates, as he did last year at the conference, said that the United States “seeks more openness in military modernization in Asia. Transparency enhances confidence and reduces competitive spending.”

He also delivered a scolding reference to China’s unannounced destruction of a satellite in January 2007 when he described how the Pentagon handled a similar situation much differently in February, alerting others before shooting down a failing satellite over the Pacific just before it tumbled uncontrollably to Earth carrying toxic fuel.

Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of China’s People’s Liberation Army, pushed back during his speech, saying that China was not engaged in an arms race and that its military spending, compared with other sectors of its economy, was “limited and proportional.” In a clear reference to America’s plan to build missile defense systems, General Ma said deploying such defenses “was not helpful” to regional stability.

Mr. Gates made clear that central to the Bush administration’s Asia policy is maintaining American military might and economic sway in the region.

Indeed, Mr. Gates’s first stop on his weeklong visit to Asia was to Guam, where he took a helicopter tour on Friday to review Pentagon plans to spend $15 billion over the next six years to upgrade and expand World War II-era installations to accommodate thousands of additional American troops, and to broaden training missions with regional partners like Japan.

He said Saturday that Washington’s policy also focused on empowering regional allies to defend themselves by strengthening their armed forces and by building more robust economies and open political systems.

This policy is almost sure to endure no matter which party wins the White House in the November election, he said.

He showed an unusual flash on anger in response to a question after his speech about American efforts to deliver relief to cyclone victims in Myanmar, saying the United States has tried 15 times to get the Burmese leadership to allow more foreign assistance, but to no avail.

“We have reached out, they have kept their hands in their pockets,” he said.

Japan needs to win Asian trust for defense policy: Ishiba

May 30 10:58 PM US/Eastern

SINGAPORE, May 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba stressed Saturday that it is necessary to ensure the "trust" of other Asian countries in dealing with contentious issues, such as the exercise of the right of collective self-defense.

Meanwhile, Ishiba expressing his resolve to enact a permanent law authorizing the dispatch of Japanese Self-Defense Forces overseas whenever Tokyo deems necessary for international peace cooperation activities.

Photo: Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba

"Japan gets a lot of benefits from many countries in this region and around the world, and from safe and secure maritime routes," Ishiba said in his speech at an international forum on security in Asia in Singapore. "Japan is therefore responsible for the peace and stability of the world."

"At present, the government of Japan plans neither to amend its Constitution nor change its interpretation" of whether Japan can exercise the right of collective self-defense, the providing of military aid to an ally, Ishiba said at the event called the Shangri- La Dialogue.

Ishiba said Japan must do its utmost to avoid "an act of invasion...in the name of right of collective self-defense" during the Friday-Sunday event organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"It is essential that the Japanese people living in this century accurately understand the grief and bitterness which Japan left to the people of Asia and win the trust of Asian people beforehand," he said.

The issue of the right of collective self-defense has been a controversial issue in Japan as the government has said the country "has" the right but "is not allowed to use" it under its pacifist Constitution.

The Japanese defense minister pledged to "seriously consider" establishing the permanent law, which would authorize the SDF to join international peace-fostering activities when deemed necessary, in order to show "a menu for responding proactively to the needs and requirements of the international community."

Ishiba indicated he recognizes it is questionable that the SDF are engaging in U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in the Indian Ocean and the airlift mission in Iraq only under time-bound laws.

The temporary law authorizing the mission by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force to refuel foreign vessels participating in the antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan will expire in January and that for the Iraq mission will likewise in July next year.

Having the permanent law for the SDF overseas dispatch is another contentious issue as some warn the legislation could lead to enhancing the SDF capability overseas to a level that goes beyond the constitutional restrictions.

Ishiba repeated his call on China to disclose more information about its military expansion, saying in the speech, "We would like to urge China to further enhance the transparency of its military capabilities and their purpose."

Gates says U.S. remains engagement with Asia-Pacific

2008-05-31 11:14:39
www.chinaview.cn

SINGAPORE, May 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told an Asian security summit here Saturday that the United States will remain strong engagement in the Asia-Pacific region no matter who will be the next president.

"Any future U.S. administration's Asia security policy is going to be grounded in the fact that the United States remains a nation with strong and enduring interests in this region -- interests that will endure no matter which political party occupies the White House next year," Gates said.

Speaking at the annual Asian Security Summit, also known as theShangri-La Dialogue, Gates said Asia has become the center of gravity in a rapidly globalizing world, and the United States is a Pacific nation with an enduring role in Asia.

"For those who worry that Iraq and Afghanistan have distracted the United States from Asia and developments here, I would counter that we have never been more engaged with more countries," he said.

The three-day conference, organized by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), has brought together Gates, and the defense ministers and military officials of 26 other countries, including China.

On the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Gates noted the U.S. drive to temper North Korea's nuclear ambitions will be not possible "without China's valued cooperation".

He also spoke of openness in military modernization in Asia. "Transparency enhances confidence and reduces competitive arms spending. The same applies to the way in which sovereign governments make their national security decisions."

Editor: Feng Tao

Gates upbeat on on-time relocation of Marines in Okinawa to Guam

May 30 08:17 PM US/Eastern

WASHINGTON, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed confidence Friday the planned relocation of Marines to Guam from Japan's Okinawa Prefecture will be completed by 2014 as set by Washington and Tokyo.

"We're still planning on having the project completed by 2014," he said after a tour of the U.S. Pacific territory, according to the transcript of his remarks.

Photo: U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates (Right) inspects Guam by helicopter

Gates made the remark in response to a question on concerns in the United States that the planned relocation could be delayed due to the new host's infrastructure and both governments' fiscal burdens.

The plan to move 8,000 Marines to Guam is part of an agreement struck between the United States and Japan in May 2006 to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan by 2014.

Any delay in relocating the Marines to Guam could affect another key element of the agreement -- relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station's heliport functions from downtown Ginowan to Nago, both in Okinawa.

Gates was sanguine about the future course of the relocation, though he acknowledged there are some potential obstacles including funding and how the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan will unfold.

"There are a lot of pieces of this jigsaw puzzle that have to fit together at the same time," he said. "And I'm confident that we'll get it done in a timely way."

Gates visited Guam as part of his tour of the Asia-Pacific region. During his stay in Guam, he assured local officials the Defense Department will be "sensitive to the needs of the people of Guam" as the Marines are transferred from Okinawa.

After the inspection of Guam, he moved to Singapore for an international security conference. He is also due to travel to Thailand and South Korea.

Prosecutors to build case against PCI officials as tax-evasion case

May 30 02:23 PM US/Eastern

(AP) - TOKYO, May 31 (Kyodo) — Prosecutors have apparently decided to build a criminal case against senior officials of Pacific Consultants International on charges of evading income tax in connection with the remittance of money to an overseas company allegedly to bribe foreign public servants, sources close to the investigation said Friday.

PCI remitted several hundred million yen to a Hong Kong company affiliated with a former PCI board director in 2004 and later via a local agent and the money was meant to bribe high-ranking government officials in Southeast Asian countries to help the consultant firm to obtain orders for Japanese official development assistance projects, the sources said.

The money was allocated as "field research" expenses but the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office apparently determined it could not recognize the sum as tax-free expenses and thus the remittance constituted tax evasion, the sources said.

Earlier, a former president of PCI, a consulting firm at the center of a high-profile fraud case, told prosecutors that he used part of public money earned via the fraud to bribe the public servants in Southeast Asian countries.

But the prosecutors are expected to give up establishing a criminal case against the PCI officials on charges of bribing foreign public servants due to the difficulty of obtaining evidence from foreign officials concerned. Bribing foreign government officials is prohibited under the law to prevent unfair competition.

Earlier this month, Masayoshi Taga, 62, a former president of PCI, admitted he used the illegally earned public money to bribe high- ranking Southeast Asian government officials as a way of expediting PCI's lobbying for Japanese ODA projects, the sources said.

Taga was served a fresh arrest warrant in mid-May on suspicion of swindling the Japanese government out of 140 million yen by overcharging for a fiscal 2004 government-awarded project aimed at disposing of chemical weapons abandoned by the former Imperial Japanese Army in China at the end of World War II. He was also arrested in April on suspicion of aggravated breach of trust in connection with the project.

According to Taga, who was then the PCI board director in charge of weapons disposal business, he was instructed by his then superior, former PCI President Shota Morita, to use part of the illegal money to bribe foreign public servants to smooth PCI's ODA business, said the sources.

Taga told the prosecutors that he used the money as told by Morita, the sources said. Morita was earlier indicted over the alleged breach of trust in connection with the weapons disposal project.

PCI is one of Japan's leading consulting firms in ODA-related projects. Based in Tama in the western suburbs of Tokyo, the company received 1.75 billion yen for the weapons disposal project in China in fiscal 2004 from the Cabinet Office.

The project began in accordance with an agreement reached between Japan and China in July 1999, whereby Japan would provide money, technology and facilities to dispose of the weapons.

US to remain committed to Asia: Gates

Saturday, 31 May, 2008

Washington would remain committed to Asia no matter who wins this year's US presidential election, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told the region's decision makers on Saturday.

His message at a conference of Asian security and defence officials appeared intended both to reassure allies and serve as a statement of intent to China, following Beijing's rise in economic and military power in recent years.

"As someone who has served seven United States presidents, I want to convey to you with confidence that any future US administration's Asia security policy is going to be grounded in the fact that the United States remains a nation with strong and enduring interests in this region," Gates said.

"I can assure you that the United States - because of our interests and because of our values - will not only remain engaged, but will become even more so in the decades ahead," the former Central Intelligence Agency chief said.

Gates tried to strike a fine balance in his comments on China.

He offered praise, citing Beijing's "valued cooperation" in North Korean nuclear talks and avoided direct criticism.

But he also alluded to subjects which have been contentious, such as repeated US calls for greater transparency in Chinese military budgets.

"We desire to work with every country in Asia to deepen our understanding of their military and defence finances, and larger national-security decisions," Gates told the annual Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore.

"We do so in a sincere and open effort to avoid misreading intentions and so that we can continue our work as strategic partners," he said.

China's growing prosperity has been accompanied by double-digit rises in military spending and a drive to modernise its armed forces and their equipment.

Beijing has said it is committed to a "peaceful rise" but Washington has called on China to clarify why it feels the need to build up its military to such an extent.

By describing US efforts to reassure the world ahead of its shootdown of a defunct satellite in February, Gates drew an implicit contrast with China's own satellite shootdown a year earlier which was not announced in advance.

"Transparency enhances confidence and reduces competitive arms spending," he said. "The same applies to the way in which sovereign governments make their national security decisions."


Source: AAP

Japanese politicians question use for tours and leisure trips

By Vince Little and Hana Kusumoto, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, May 31, 2008

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The Japanese government wants to learn more about how the U.S. military uses highway toll tickets.

Under the Status of Forces Agreement with the United States, Japan pays for the U.S. military’s "official" off-base travel.

Japan Communist Party representative Satoshi Inoue took issue last month with the practice of the U.S. military issuing toll tickets for off-base bus tours and leisure trips. He also criticized their availability to people who rent vehicles at some installations.

Photo: A Japanese driver pulls up to a toll gate to enter the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon. Japanese government officials want to know how the U.S. military is using toll tickets provided by Japan for official off-base travel after Japan Communist Party representative Satoshi Inoue raised the issue of the U.S. military using the toll tickets for off-base leisure travel.

On April 23, the Japanese government contacted U.S. Forces Japan seeking more details on toll ticket use, defense and foreign ministry officials said, and is awaiting a formal response.

"All we can say on the matter is that USFJ is in discussions with the Government of Japan on this and a variety of other Status of Forces Agreement issues," USFJ spokesman Marine Corps Master Sgt. Terence Peck wrote in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

The second section of Article 5 in the SOFA states that U.S. government-owned vehicles and members of the U.S. military, Department of Defense civilians and their dependents "shall be accorded access to and movement between facilities and areas in use by the United States armed forces and between such facilities and areas and the ports or airports of Japan," and that access "shall be free from toll and other charges."

In fiscal 2007, Japan paid about $8.4 million in highway tolls for U.S. military vehicles after spending about $8.63 million the previous year from its defense budget, according to Inoue and the Defense Ministry.

"It is wrong to shoulder something used for leisure with [Japan’s] tax," Inoue said, calling it a SOFA violation.

He said he wants Japan to stop paying all tolls for the U.S. military, and added that the public will definitely not support paying for the leisure travel.

U.S. military personnel using the toll tickets must fill out information blocks for vehicle type, license plate number, driver’s name, location and date.

The Japan Highway Public Cooperation then claims the amount to the defense ministry, which pays the toll, according to Inoue. "There is no place to claim the purpose [of the trip]," Inoue said, and toll booth workers can’t differentiate between official and unofficial use of military vehicles.

Inoue raised the issue April 19 at an upper house committee meeting on foreign affairs and defense. Inoue said a Japan Defense Ministry official told him that the use of toll tickets for U.S. tour buses isn’t a problem because the outings are "official" and provided to boost troops’ welfare and morale. A Defense Ministry spokesman contacted Thursday declined to comment.

At Yokota on Wednesday, some people suggested the move to eliminate highway toll tickets for base-sponsored recreational purposes could backfire, eliminating options and perhaps inviting more chances for misconduct by U.S. personnel outside the gates.

"I see why the Japanese government would be doing it, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a good thing," said Paula Sloan, a Yokota Middle School teacher. "I don’t think it’ll solve any of the problems the Japanese might have with the U.S. military. It limits what people can do on weekends — without going out and causing problems.

"Someone here who’s 18, 19, 20 years old, they’re not going to be able to pay for tour tickets if they go too high. ... Instead, they might start getting into trouble in bars off base," she said.

Airman 1st Class Robert Gore of the 36th Airlift Squadron was unaware toll tickets are included with Yokota vehicle rentals but said he’d be more reluctant to rent one if they weren’t. Base tours also give Americans stationed here an opportunity to see Japan with someone else at the wheel, he added.

"It wouldn’t be good if they went away," he said. "If I was new, it’s a good way to get off base for the first time."

Expressway tickets have history of misuse

TOKYO — Highway passes provided to the U.S. military by Japan have a paper trail rooted in controversy.

From 1969 to 1994, American servicemembers and Defense Department personnel were issued plain white passes to access toll roads.

But 15 years ago, about 7,400 fake passes turned up across the country. Japanese police traced the forgeries to discount ticket shops in Tokyo, where they were being copied and sold for about $50 each.

The forged passes cost the Japanese government an estimated $95,000.

In February 1994, four Japanese men with ties to organized crime gangs were arrested in connection with the expressway passes. Japanese police said at the time that they believed one of the men acquired the passes from someone connected to Atsugi Naval Air Facility.

About four months after the scandal, the white passes were replaced by the green toll tickets in use today. The new forms require all U.S. Forces Japan organizations to maintain an accountability register.

In accordance with the status of forces agreement, the forms may not be used for privately owned vehicles, even if the driver is conducting official business.

The new highway passes are printed on paper designed to thwart counterfeiting and include a serial number.

The Japanese government has picked up toll costs for U.S. military vehicles in Japan since 1964.

What it costs to drive

The following is a list of one-way toll fares from U.S. military bases in Japan to the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo:

Sasebo Naval Base
25,310 yen (about $241.76)

Marine Corps Air

Station Iwakuni
18,500 yen (about $176.71)

Misawa Air Base
13,650 yen (about $130.38)

Camp Fuji
3,200 yen (about $30.57)

Yokosuka Naval Base
2,250 yen (about $21.49)

Camp Zama and Naval

Air Facility Atsugi
1,450 yen (about $13.85)

Yokota Air Base
1,300 yen (about $12.42)

Source: East Nippon
Expressway Company Ltd.

Miura sues to seek that Japan not cooperate with U.S. probe

May 30 07:47 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura, arrested on Saipan in February on murder and conspiracy charges, filed a lawsuit Friday with the Tokyo District Court seeking that Japan not comply with a request by the United States to cooperate in the investigation on him.

Miura, 60, is being held on Saipan, an island in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, on the charges in connection with the shooting in 1981 that led to the death of his 28-year-old wife Kazumi. Japan's Supreme Court has acquitted Miura of the shooting of his wife.

Photo: Kazuyoshi Miura on Saipan

Miura's side asserted, "Cooperation in the investigation with the United States will damage (Miura's) reputation as it is equivalent to treating him as a suspect although his acquittal was finalized. The damage which stems from such reasons as prolonging detention is huge."

Miura sought that Japan's justice and foreign ministers not take procedures including accepting a request to cooperate in the U.S. investigation over the case.

Regarding the cooperation, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said in a press conference in February, "Generally speaking, his acquittal in Japan does not constitute a reason that Japan will reject providing cooperation."

People related to the U.S. investigation visited Japan in March and consulted with Justice Ministry officials.

According to Miura's lawyer, Miura has said, "I cannot accept the cooperation, which ignores the Supreme Court's acquittal."

Filipina files rape complaint against US soldier in Okinawa

English Articles
［ 202 words｜2008.5.30｜英字 ］

MANILA -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said a Filipina allegedly raped by an American serviceman has filed a case with US military authorities in Okinawa, Japan.

ﾒWe just learned this morning that the documents for the case are now filed with US military authorities in Okinawa and we are just waiting for the decision of the military authorities whether they will entertain it or not,ﾓ DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affair Executive Director Crescente Relacion told a press conference.

He said the DFA instructed the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo to seek a reinvestigation of the case in the Prosecutorﾕs Office following its dismissal last May 15 for lack of evidence.

ﾒWe are closely monitoring the case. The decision of the prosecutor is a different issue but we are committed to give assistance to the victim,ﾓ Relacion said.

The victim, who is in the protective custody of the Archbishop of Naha and the Philippine Consulate General in Okinawa, said she was raped in a hotel. The brutal incident left her with severe injuries.

A US marine was convicted by a lower court in Makati in 2006 for raping a Filipina at the former US military base in Subic Bay. DMS

Bush to leave 'strong and positive legacy' in Asia: Gates

May 30, 2008

SINGAPORE (AFP) — President George W. Bush will leave a "strong and positive legacy" in Asia and his successor will maintain engagement in the region, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday.

Gates told a high-level security forum here that any speculation that the United States was losing interest in the region was "preposterous."

"Actually I think this will be an area where there will be a strong and positive legacy in the future," he told the forum, six months before the US presidential elections.

"Any speculation in the region about the United States losing interest in Asia strikes me as either preposterous, or disingenuous, or both," said Gates, who will visit Thailand and South Korea after Singapore.

Doubts have emerged among some allies over US leadership in the region, which comes as rising power China continues its military build-up.

Describing the United States as a "resident power" in Asia with military bases and cooperation pacts with a web of partners, Gates said future US leaders will maintain Washington's commitment to the region's security.

"Any future US administration's Asia security policy is going to be grounded in the fact that the United States remains a nation with strong and enduring interests in this region," he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue forum of defence and military officials and security experts.

Gates said there was a "significant improvement" in the US-Japanese and US-Indian relationship under Bush.

He also cited the example of progress in communication with China.

The two sides recently established a "Defence Telephone Link" between the Pentagon and the Chinese defence minister, he said, adding the US also started with Beijing a series of dialogues on strategic issues.

Regardless of controversies over the Bush administration's security policies globally, Gates said that "in Asia the overall legacy is a pretty straightforward and very positive one."

"For those who worry that Iraq and Afghanistan have distracted the United States from Asia and developments here, I would counter that we have never been more engaged with more Asian countries," Gates said.

Singapore, an unwavering US ally, on Saturday welcomed Gates' comments.

"I think that the message that Secretary Gates brought about continuity of US policy and emphasis on the Asia Pacific is a welcome one," Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean told reporters at the forum.

The United States has permanent bases in Japan and South Korea and is beefing up its military presence in the Pacific island of Guam, where Gates stopped en route to Singapore.

Guam, a US territory since 1898, is currently home to about 6,000 military personnel. It will soon become an even more important US base with the relocation of about 8,000 Marines from Japan's Okinawa island by 2014.

"Our Asian friends, whether or not they are formally allied to us, welcome our growing presence on Guam," Gates said.

"As the island's new facilities take shape in coming years, they will be increasingly multilateral in orientation, with training opportunities and possible pre-positioning of assets," Gates said.

Japanese Defence Secretary Shigeru Ishiba, speaking at the same forum, underscored the importance of the Japan-US Security Alliance to the stability of the East Asian region.

He said it was "one of the most solid alliances in the world" and contributes to the "regional public good."

High Court orders disclosure of ’06 helicopter crash documents

Date Posted: 2008-05-30

The Japanese government decision to withhold documents surrounding the crash of a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter on Okinawa nearly two years ago has been slammed by the Fukuoka High Court.

A court battle over whether the government must release all documents pertaining to the August 2006 crash of a CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter in Ginowan City began after a lower court ruled authorities had the right to keep some documents away from the public. A Naha City man had initiated the suit, demanding that the Foreign Ministry reveal all documents concerning the crash onto Okinawa International University’s campus, injuring three crew members. The helicopter slammed into an administration building wall at the university, which sits next to Futenma Marine Corps Air Station, but nobody on the ground was injured.

Presiding Judge Osamu Nishi and the Fukuoka High Court has now directed the government to hand over the documents. The lower court had rejected the suit, citing potential damage to U.S.- Japan security relations if the documents were turned over without Washington’s approval. Justice and Foreign ministries are now contemplating an appeal to Nishi’s order.

Drunken airman exposes himself to two young girls

Date Posted: 2008-05-30

Maric Bassett is in deep trouble with both American and Okinawan authorities after he dropped his pants and exposed himself to two girls on an Okinawa City street.

The 26-year-old airman assigned to Kadena Air Base was walking in Nakano Machi, the Okinawa City entertainment district, early Friday morning when police say he suddenly stepped in front of two girls, pulled his pants down to his knees, and exposed himself. “Oh my God,” one girl shouted as the other called police.

Bassett denied to police he was exposing himself to the girls, saying “I just wanted to pee.” Police say the airman was so drunk, his alcohol level was 0.71ml.

The incident came only days after an Okinawa Prefecture employee did the same thing, exposing his naked lower body in front of an Okinawan woman.

Fretting safety, Yokosuka public awaits atomic-powered carrier

Friday, May 30, 2008
By KAKUMI KOBAYASHI
Kyodo News

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. (Kyodo) After seeing off the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk this week, Yokosuka now has to brace for the arrival of its replacement — the first nuclear-powered U.S. vessel to be based in Japan.

Photo: Showing the flag: The USS George Washington operates recently in the Persian Gulf. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is coming to Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in August.

Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya basically supports the forward-deployment of the 102,000-ton George Washington. But the recent fire on the vessel that hurt two sailors has heightened safety concerns among residents of the Kanagawa Prefecture city.

"I regret that the incident took place at a very bad time," Senior Vice Foreign Minister Hitoshi Kimura said.

Indeed, both the Japanese and U.S. governments are trying to dismiss concerns about the safety of nuclear-powered military vessels and create a welcoming mood for the George Washington.

U.S. Forces Japan Commander Lt. Gen. Edward Rice recently stressed the strategic significance of having the carrier here, saying: "The George Washington is a tremendously capable asset. It is more capable than the Kitty Hawk."

The U.S. based three aircraft carriers, including the Kitty Hawk, at Yokosuka since 1973.

As the strength of the Self-Defense Forces is limited under the war-renouncing Constitution, forward-deployed carriers have been a strategic deterrent under the bilateral security alliance.

"It has significance for the United States to continue to have a carrier in Japan geographically, in terms of Washington's strategy toward the Middle Eastern area," military affairs commentator Tetsuo Maeda said. "The Middle East is on the other side of the globe for the United States. Having a carrier in Japan can save time and energy of going across the Pacific 10,000 km from mainland America."

The Kitty Hawk is the U.S. Navy's last conventionally powered carrier, and the Pentagon said it had no other option but to replace it with a nuclear-powered flattop.

There have been few major movements opposing the deployment of U.S. carriers to Yokosuka, which is also the headquarters for the U.S. Navy in Japan and a key Maritime Self-Defense Force base.

Yokosuka is also the hometown of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who built up strong ties with the U.S. during his five years in office.

But the fire on the George Washington has fueled concerns among a growing number of Yokosuka's residents, even though the navy has repeatedly said the incident had no effect on the ship's nuclear system.

Rice touted the safety of U.S. nuclear vessels, saying there has not been "one single incident of release of radioactivity or an environmental issue" in the U.S. Navy in 40 years.

But Yokosuka lawyer Masahiko Goto doubts this record. He leads a group opposed to the deployment of the George Washington.

"It is true that there have been no serious accidents like in Three Mile Island or Chernobyl," Goto said. "But the United States hides a number of incidents, which could have resulted in a major accident involving nuclear-powered military ships and submarines since the 1970s.

"The problem is that Japan has no authority to check the safety standards of the George Washington or the facilities to maintain it," he said.

Concerns about nuclear safety are a household topic in Japan — an earthquake-prone country with more than 50 nuclear plants, some of which have suffered accidents and defect coverups.

"The operation of nuclear plants is subject to control of the Japanese government. . . . But it is very dangerous for a state to have a nuclear reactor out of its control on its soil," Goto said.

Yokosuka citizens' groups petitioned twice for a plebiscite on the carrier, but the assembly rejected both attempts.

Funeral held for two fishermen lost in collision with destroyer

Friday, May 30, 2008

CHIBA (Kyodo) Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Keiji Akahoshi were among the mourners at the funeral Thursday of two fishermen who were lost in February after their small fishing boat was run over by an MSDF destroyer.

Photo: Somber occasion: Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters Thursday in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, after attending the funeral of two fishermen who were killed in a collision with a destroyer.

Capt. Ken Funato, the skipper of the 7,750-ton destroyer Atago at the time of the collision, also attended the service Haruo Kichisei, 58, and his son, Tetsuhiro, 23.

Kichisei's relatives and fellow fishermen and their families bade farewell to the two during the service held at a funeral hall in their hometown of Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture.

The Japan Coast Guard declared them dead May 20 after more than three months had passed since they disappeared in the Feb. 19 collision.

EDITORIAL :: Mr. Fukuda's vision

Friday, May 30, 2008

In August 1977 then Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda in Manila gave a speech on Japan's Asia diplomacy. Under what was later called the Fukuda doctrine, Japan promised to refrain from becoming a military power, to pursue "heart-to-heart" relationships of mutual trust in various fields, to seek solidarity with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) on the basis of equal partnership, and to pursue mutual understanding with the Indochinese countries.

Last week, his son, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, gave a similar speech at a Tokyo symposium on Asia's future. Will this speech serve as principles to guide Japan's policy toward Asia for the next 30 years, as Mr. Fukuda no doubt hopes?

The speech, which might be called a new Fukuda doctrine, reflects efforts to give substance to his foreign-policy goal of making the push for Asia diplomacy resonate with the reinforcement of the Japan-U.S. alliance. This will help restore balance to Japan's diplomacy. This means a departure from former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's lopsided emphasis on ties with the United States, as well as from former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to encircle China through closer ties with the U.S., Australia and India while minimizing friction with it.

Given Japan's geographical location and modern history characterized by its 20th-century war in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr. Fukuda's approach is reasonable. He needs to exert the kind of leadership that follows up with concrete action.

In his speech entitled "Toward the Day When the Pacific Ocean Becomes an Inland Sea," Mr. Fukuda said the doctrine declared by his father is still alive because Japan and other Asian countries cannot leave behind the principle of sharing good things and coping with problems together as "colleagues." He stressed the importance of people in the Asia-Pacific region building relations of mutual trust and "walking together."

Mr. Fukuda envisions the Pacific Ocean as an inland sea 30 years from now, with increased exchanges of people, goods, capital and knowledge, and the world's leading economies concentrated in the region. He noted that the countries in the region now account for about 60 percent of the world's gross domestic product and about 40 percent of world trade.

Pointing out that the key word is "openness," Mr. Fukuda correctly noted that Japan's starting point should be the "open diversity" of its society. Attaining this is easier said than done, as it requires that Japan review its policies ranging from education to immigration control. He admitted that Japan lags behind in the social advancement of women, acceptance of direct investment, and the utilization of talented people from other Asian countries. His humble attitude deserves praise.

Mr. Fukuda mentioned five promises of concrete action. Japan will support ASEAN's effort to create a single integrated market by 2015. He said the creation of such a market demands the eradication of gaps within the ASEAN region and the development of the Mekong River region. His call for dedicating the next 30 years to eradicating these gaps is likely to receive support from the countries concerned.

Mr. Fukuda also said Japan will strengthen its alliance with the U.S. as a public asset to ensure stability in the Asia-Pacific region. But there is the danger that strengthening ties with the U.S. in an accelerated manner could be taken by other Asian countries as an effort by the two countries to dominate the Asia-Pacific region.

To prevent such a perception, Japan will need to maintain close communication with other countries as it deepens its relations with the U.S. Only when such communication is adequate will the Japan-U.S. alliance be able to serve as the cornerstone for prosperity in the region as Mr. Fukuda hopes.

Other promises include Japan's becoming a "peace cooperation state" whose work will include cooperating with other partners to ensure the Strait of Malacca is free of pirates. It will push exchanges of young people and cooperation between universities in the region. And it will make efforts to battle the effects and causes of global warming.

Mr. Fukuda proposed that emergency relief organizations and public health organizations in Japan and other Asian countries form a network for prompt cooperation in the event of either a major natural disaster or an outbreak of bird flu or a new type of flu. He noted that the fight against climate change cannot be carried out by Japan alone and urged other countries in the region to cooperate.

Mr. Fukuda avoided such issues as China's Tibet problem and the military rule in Myanmar. But his new doctrine will help orient Japan's diplomacy. Yet, implementing it is another matter. Some ideas put forth by him, such as the antidisaster and antiflu network especially, deserve prompt action.

Reform bill sidesteps 'amakudari'

Friday, May 30, 2008
By MASAMI ITO
Staff writer

The Lower House passed a bill Thursday to reform the civil servant system, but the legislation omitted any steps to curb the notoriously corrupt system of "amakudari," the practice whereby bureaucrats retire into lucrative posts in industries they had overseen.

With the Diet closing on June 15, the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition and the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, were able to draft a last-minute revision of the bill, which was submitted in April. Passage of the bill has been a key goal of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as he struggles to regain public trust following a spate of scandals involving government employees.

Photo: Kenta Izumi on behalf of the Democratic Party takes the rostrum at the House of Representatives plenary session for the national civil-service reform bill.

After a majority vote by the ruling bloc, the DPJ and the Social Democratic Party passed the revised bill, it was handed to the Upper House, which is scheduled to deliberate on it Friday. Full passage is practically assured by the end of the Diet session.

The bill aims to restructure the civil servant system by having the chief Cabinet secretary propose a list of candidates for vice minister and other high-ranking positions in ministries and agencies, and by establishing a new Cabinet personnel bureau in the Cabinet Secretariat that would oversee personnel affairs at each ministry.

"The aim of restructuring the public servant system is to change a vertically structured and closed bureaucracy into one that is transparent and efficient, and to create an administrative organization that will truly benefit the public," DPJ lawmaker Kenta Izumi said at a Lower House plenary session.

Izumi pointed out that Japan's "bureaucrat-led administration" must be changed into a "politician-led Cabinet" to realize a true parliamentary government.

To ensure passage of the bill, the ruling bloc compromised on many of the DPJ's proposals. But one of the key issues in the civil servant reform debate — amakudari — was skipped altogether.

The infamous system, in which retired government officials are rewarded with high positions in private companies in industries they once oversaw, has been criticized as a key path to corruption. Although the DPJ called for banning amakudari, it apparently backed down to avoid jeopardizing the bill.

The Japanese Communist Party voted against the bill.

"The privileged bureaucrats served the business world, not the public, and as compensation, they continued to expand their interests through amakudari," JCP lawmaker Tetsuya Shiokawa said. "And the result of (amakudari) led to bid-rigging and contaminated blood products. . . . Regulation against amakudari is what is necessary to sever the collusion between politics, bureaucracy and the business world."

Another measure lost in the revision was disciplinary rules to regulate direct contact between politicians and bureaucrats. The DPJ protested the measure because it would make it more difficult to collect information needed to form policy.

Under the revised bill, when Diet members and bureaucrats make contact they are required to document the meeting and disclose the information to increase transparency.

Ruling bloc lawmakers admitted Fukuda strongly pushed for enactment of the bill, which pressured the coalition to compromise with the DPJ.

Keio's Ikeo proposed for BOJ position

Friday, May 30, 2008
Bloomberg

Kazuhito Ikeo, a professor at Keio University in Tokyo, was nominated Thursday to join the Bank of Japan's Policy Board as the government sought to fill one of two positions left vacant since March.

The positions on the nine-member board, including one of Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa's two deputies, have been vacant since the Democratic Party of Japan-led opposition camp used its control of the Upper House to block four candidates in March and April. No one was proposed for deputy Thursday, said Katsuya Ogawa, a DPJ member who was among lawmakers who received the nomination.

Photo: Takashi Sasagawa speaking in Diet

Ikeo, 55, has argued that keeping interest rates too low has hampered their use as a policy tool and that borrowing costs will eventually need to rise, said Masaaki Kanno, a former central bank official and now chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo.

"Professor Ikeo and Gov. Shirakawa share the view that interest-rate levels need to be normalized over the medium to long term," Kanno said. Japan's benchmark overnight lending rate is 0.5 percent, the lowest among major economies.

Ikeo will testify in the Lower House next Tuesday, said Takashi Sasagawa, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and member of a committee on government appointments.

The nomination needs the approval of both houses. If accepted, Ikeo would fill the seat left vacant when board member Kiyohiko Nishimura was promoted to one of the two deputy governor posts in March.

The government was forced to postpone the proposal Tuesday after newspapers reported Ikeo would be the nominee. The DPJ has said it will reject candidates whose names have been leaked to the media.

Ikeo has been an economics professor at Keio since 1995. He has taught at other colleges, including his alma mater, Kyoto University. An expert on banking regulation, he has served on several government panels, including one that provided advice on the nation's banking industry and fiscal policy.

Ikeo criticized the BOJ's "quantitative easing" policy of pumping extra cash into the economy to fight deflation, saying in a 2001 interview that it's "doubtful that the policy would have any drastic influence" on the economy. The bank ended the five-year policy in March 2006.

Bill would aid Taiwan, Korea war criminals

Friday, May 30, 2008
Kyodo News

The Democratic Party of Japan submitted a bill Thursday aimed at providing ¥3 million in special benefits to each Korean and Taiwanese convicted of Class B or C war crimes at the Tokyo tribunal.

The main opposition party submitted the bill to the House of Representatives, but it is not clear if the measure will be put to a vote in the current regular Diet session, which ends June 15, or if the ruling bloc will even support it.

Photo: DPJ Lower House member Kenta Izumi

The DPJ will call on other parties for support and is ready to revise the bill if required, party members said.

DPJ Lower House member Kenta Izumi, who proposed the bill, told reporters it would cover 148 people from the Korean Peninsula and 173 from Taiwan. Both the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan were under Japan's colonial rule until its surrender in World War II in 1945.

The bill would allow relatives to apply for the special benefit if a convicted war criminal has died.

In 2006, South Korea recognized Korean war criminals as victims of war, paving the way for them and their relatives to appear in public. But many of the war criminals are accused of collaborating with Japan.

At the tribunal, more than 5,000 people, mainly Japanese nationals, were accused of war crimes in three categories — crimes against peace (Class A), ordinary war crimes (Class B) and crimes against humanity (Class C). Many Koreans and Taiwanese, who served in the Japanese forces, were punished as Class B or C criminals.

Secretary Gates Visits Guam Military Base

By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: May 30, 2008

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — Dipping low over this tropical island in a Navy helicopter on Friday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates gazed out over one of the largest American military construction projects in decades.

Over the next six years, the Pentagon is planning to spend $15 billion to upgrade and expand World War II-era air bases, barracks and ports, and carve out of the jungle new housing and headquarters to accommodate thousands of additional troops and their families who are scheduled to arrive.

It is all part of the military’s effort to remake Guam into a strategic hub in the western Pacific, underscoring both the increasing geopolitical importance of Asia to Washington as well as the Pentagon’s priority to project power from American territory rather than foreign bases.

Mr. Gates made Guam his first stop on a weeklong trip to Asia, his fourth to the region since becoming defense secretary 17 months ago. He will also attend a regional security conference in Singapore, and confer with defense officials in Thailand and South Korea.

An underlying theme of the trip, Mr. Gates said, will be “affirming that the United States is not distracted by our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from our long-term interests here in Asia.”

With American officials warily watching China’s military buildup as well as the continuing standoff with North Korea over its nuclear program, the massive construction projects already underway and on the drawing board here are striking.

The military owns about one-third of this island, and much of the remaining jungle will be bulldozed to build military headquarters, housing, hospitals, schools and commissaries, officials said.

By 2014, some 8,000 marines are expected to move here from their long-time base in Okinawa, requiring a new headquarters, housing and a small-arms training range. The Japanese government is paying $6 billion to help defray costs of the move and the new constructions here, said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.

Japanese defense forces will train and conduct exercises with American troops here, said Mr. Morrell, in a historical twist of fate. Three days after the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan’s occupation of this American island started and continued until United States soldiers returned to Guam on July 21, 1944, a date celebrated here as Liberation Day.

The Navy, which has three submarines, a helicopter squadron and supply ships based here, is planning to dredge the harbor to accommodate large marine amphibious ships.

Since 2004, the Air Force has been rotating B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers through Guam from bases in the United States. The rotations are designed to support American security in the Asia-Pacific while other United States forces are diverted to the Middle East.

The Air Force is also planning to build hangars for three Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, and expand facilities to accommodate periodic rotations of fighter jets, including the Air Force’s newest fighter, the F-22, from their bases in Hawaii and Alaska.

“Andersen in six years will not look anything like it does today,” Brig. Gen. Doug Owens, the base commander here, told reporters traveling with Mr. Gates.

In all, Mr. Gates said, more than 12,000 additional American troops will move here, more than doubling the current total of about 7,000 service members.

American and Guamanian officials acknowledge that the wave of new construction — as well as the more than 25,000 workers likely to flock to the island to supplement local laborers — will require a careful balancing of environmental protections and national security priorities.

Mr. Gates said the Pentagon wants to complete these projects “in a way that’s sensitive to the needs of the people of Guam as well as to our military needs.”