April 15, 2009An agreement under which Japan will contribute up to 2.8 billion dollars (about 280 billion yen) toward the relocation of 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam was passed by a majority in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The agreement was adopted in a plenary session by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and other parties. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party voted against the agreement.
Following the approval, the pact was sent to the House of Councillors, where debate was to begin Wednesday. It is expected that the opposition-controlled Upper House will vote against the agreement, but under the Constitution, the Lower House vote prevails when the two houses cannot agree, and it is expected that the pact will be passed no later than 30 days after being sent to the Upper House.
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone stressed the necessity of the agreement in a news conference on Tuesday, saying, "It is part of the realignment of U.S. troops in Japan, and is something that people in Okinawa have wanted for a long time.
The agreement states that 8,000 U.S. Marines on Okinawa will be relocated to Guam by 2014 under a road map on the realignment of U.S. troops in Japan that the Japanese and U.S. governments agreed upon in 2006. Japan will contribute up to 2.8 billion dollars of the 10.27 billion dollar cost of the relocation for expenses including maintenance of facilities on Guam. The agreement states that the relocation is dependent on progress on relocating the U.S. Marines' Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to a separate facility in the prefecture, and on Japan's financial contributions.
(Mainichi Japan) April 15, 2009
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