www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-16 15:37:25
TOKYO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said on Wednesday that the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government will keep the fundamental elements of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed with Washington intact, while looking for a new location in Okinawa Prefecture to move U.S. troops to.
"The government will not seek to change its current 'road map' on the U.S. military," Hirano said. "But on the issue of Okinawa, the three parties (in the governing coalition) needs to think in a forward-looking manner."
He said that this meant "There could be some variations in future negotiations between Japan and Washington."
At issue is the SOFA agreement signed by the former governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the U.S. administration of President George W. Bush. Under that agreement, 8,000 U.S. forces are to be moved from Okinawa to Guam, while remaining troops on the island prefecture were to be relocated to less populated areas.
Since coming to power at the end of the summer, the DPJ has said it would like to see Japan and the United States develop a "more equal" relationship, in which Tokyo is less subservient to Washington. Bringing in to question the SOFA agreement has been a part of this DPJ project.
The DPJ has since September looked at options on where to relocate U.S. marines now based in the urban area of Futenma, including moving them out of the prefecture. Under the 2006 agreement, the troops were to be moved to the less-populated Nago area of the prefecture.
On Tuesday, Japan's government announced that it would put off a decision on where to move the troops until next year, while the governing coalition of the DPJ, People's New Party (PNP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) meet to consider options.
Gen. James Conway, the commander of the U.S. Marines, on Wednesday said to media that he was "disappointed" that the matter had not been brought to a close this year. "At this point, it sounds like it's more and more up in the air, which is unfortunate."
Washington asked Japan on Friday to reach a decision on the SOFA agreement by Dec. 18.
Reacting to Conway's comments, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said, "there is no better solution if you think about the current situation in Okinawa," and asked for U.S. understanding on the matter.
In recent weeks, citizens in Okinawa have been protesting against U.S. troops in the area, and SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima has hinted that her party may leave the governing coalition if troops are to remain in the prefecture.
Meanwhile, LDP lawmaker Taro Kono, said on Wednesday in New York that he believes the way the DPJ has handled the SOFA issue had been messy. "Hatoyama and his cabinet knew they were going to be forming a new government maybe six months before they came to power, so they should have been prepared for this issue. But I don't think they had done their homework," he said.
The U.S. has had a military presence on the islands of Okinawa since the end of World War II, and governed them until 1972, when they were given back to Japan.
Editor: Wang Guanqun
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