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Kyodo News
The United States plans to set up a ''trilateral military cooperation'' with Japan and South Korea to deal not only with North Korea but also with China and terrorist threats in Asia, U.S. Pacific Command Commander Adm. William Fallon said Tuesday.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Fallon said the United States has been working to transform its bilateral defense alliances with the two nations to deal with regional and global issues and develop them into a stronger trilateral initiative.
''We also hope to foster greater trilateral cooperation between the ROK (Republic of Korea), Japan and the United States,'' Fallon said in a written statement.
Fallon did not spell out the details of the trilateral cooperation. But referring to the ongoing realignment of bilateral military alliances with the two nations, Fallon indicated the U.S. military wants the three countries to jointly deal with China's increasing military power, North Korea's possible collapse and reunification of the two Koreas, unconventional regional threats such as terrorism risks in Southeast Asia, and other regional matters.
The three nations have been promoting working-level defense consultations, but the talks have largely been limited to exchanging views on North Korea.
But uncertainties remain because the trilateral process as well as bilateral defense talks between Japan and South Korea have occasionally stalled due to lingering territorial and history-related disputes between Tokyo and Seoul stemming from Japan's aggression during and before World War II.
Defense experts said Washington wants to keep Japan and South Korea on its side against China, especially hoping to prevent Seoul from leaning toward Beijing due to their similar disputes with Japan and their common reconciliatory interests over North Korea.
Fallon's remarks came after the U.S. Defense Department issued its Quadrennial Defense Review last month, which singled out China as having the ''greatest'' potential to militarily compete with the United States among emerging and major powers.
In the QDR, which set the defense strategy and military posture for the next 20 years, the Pentagon called for ''greater'' military presence in the Pacific Ocean and vowed to boost military integration with allies to deter against emerging and major powers and ''complicate any adversary's efforts to decouple them.''
The integration includes intelligence sensors, communications networks, information systems, missile defenses, undersea warfare and counter-mine warfare capabilities.
Japan and the United States agreed last October to step up integration and joint operations between Japanese Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces as part of their broad accord on realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
The two nations are set to compile implementation plans by the end of March for the realignment accord.
''We are conducting a U.S.-Japan interoperability study, exploring ways to improve how our forces coordinate a wide range of operations,'' Fallon said, noting that they are also jointly developing a missile defense system.
Fallon said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has demonstrated ''exceptional leadership'' in guiding the SDF through ''significant change'' such as sending ground troops to Iraq and refueling vessels to the Indian Ocean to help the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
''These actions clearly show the willingness and capability of the government of Japan to deploy the SDF regionally and globally in support of security and humanitarian operations,'' Fallon said.
Meanwhile, Seoul and Washington agreed earlier this year on ''strategic flexibility'' of U.S. armed forces in South Korea, paving the way for U.S. forces there to engage in missions outside the Korean Peninsula.
But the accord led to controversy in South Korea as it may lead the nation to get involved in regional conflicts that the United States could be engaged in such as a possible contingency in Taiwan.
Fallon said, ''We welcome Korea's adoption of a more regional view of security and stability.''
The two nations ''must remain adaptable in light of the changing security environment, including unconventional threats, China's military modernization, and the potential for reconciliation between the Koreas,'' he said.
Kyodo News
The Asahi Shimbun
December 20, 2005
The number of cases in which the Self-Defense Forces provided supplies or support for the U.S. military more than tripled in fiscal 2004 from the previous year, the Defense Agency said.
The increase stems from a 2004 revision to the acquisition and cross-servicing agreement (ACSA), enabling the SDF to provide such assistance to the U.S. military even during routine training drills.
The agreement was originally intended only for U.N. peacekeeping operations or joint training drills.
But Tokyo and Washington have become increasingly interdependent in terms of military cooperation. In addition, enhancing Japan's role in logistics support for U.S. troops is part of an interim report on U.S. military realignment.
According to the Defense Agency, the SDF provided goods and services to the U.S. military in response to requests 212 times between April and December 2004.
For all of fiscal 2003, the figure was 67.
Of the 212 cases, 150 involved assistance approved under the 2004 revision of the ACSA.
Conventional SDF assistance, including providing accommodation, fuel, transportation and other duties during Japan-U.S. joint exercises, remained at the same level as the previous year, which was 58.
Of the 212 cases, 148 involved U.S. aircraft being refueled at SDF air stations.The Asahi Shimbun
Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
December 16, 2005
(Kyodo) _ In the early 1990s, after Japan faced criticism for its passive checkbook diplomacy during the first Gulf War, the United States sought to take advantage of Tokyo's "defensiveness and fear of isolation" to prod it to play a greater role on the global stage, according to a recently declassified U.S. government document.
The document -- a cable dated March 14, 1991, by then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost -- is part of more than 1,750 declassified documents totaling over 8,000 pages that highlight how during 1977-1992 U.S. pressure spurred Japan to increase its international contributions and resolve trade friction.
The papers also clarify the process of how the two nations worked together to deepen their defense cooperation during these critical years, which saw the end of the Cold War and the launch of the Gulf War, even though their trade and economic ties were deteriorating.
Now, more than a decade later, Japan and the United States have recently agreed on the realignment of the U.S. military in Japan to strengthen defense ties by integrating the operations of the U.S. forces and Japan's Self-Defense Force and to transform their security relations into a global alliance.
The documents were obtained by the National Security Archive, a research center and library affiliated with George Washington University in the U.S. capital.
In the cable sent to the U.S. State Department shortly after the Gulf War, Armacost said the Japanese government took an "essentially passive approach" to the war and that the Diet debate failed to "educate the pubic on the fundamental interests and principles at stake."
"Much of the responsibility belongs to the rigid parliamentary practices built up over the 40 years of single party rule and to the bureaucratic mentality" with which the government, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition parties "have traditionally approached issues," he said.
But Armacost said, "In pursuing our interests here, we have the opportunity to take advantage of Japan's defensiveness and fear of isolation in the wake of the Gulf crisis to gain greater GOJ (government of Japan) cooperation."
"In sum, we have a real opportunity to influence the direction of Japanese foreign policy and to point Japan's financial and political influence in directions supportive of U.S. interests if we devote the time necessary for consultations and if we give the GOJ some room for maneuver within the context of different approaches to achieving shared objectives," he said.
Armacost warned against "the bashing" seen in the U.S. Congress and media over Tokyo's contributions, saying that it "has fueled resentment" in Japan.
"Of more importance is the growing theme here that America's welcome new self-confidence may turn to arrogance and that the United States, unconstrained by the need to maintain alliances to contain the Soviet Union in a 'uni-polar world' and frightened by Japan's economic challenge, will now 'turn its guns' toward Tokyo," he said.
"We need to avoid an overly confrontational approach that risks provoking a backlash," Armacost said.
In a memorandum dated April 20, 1981, for U.S. President Ronald Reagan ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki's visit to Washington, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger stressed the importance of encouraging Japan to increase its defense capabilities.
"Japan is our only Asian ally with the potential significantly to increase its defense efforts," he said. "Therefore, your forthcoming meeting with Prime Minister Suzuki provides a fine opportunity to urge Japan to help provide for its own defense while the United States continues to provide the offensive capability in the region."
More specifically, Weinberger advised the president to propose that Japan "approximately double your maritime and air defense capabilities in the Northwest Pacific within this decade...to protect shipping lanes north of the Philippines and west of Guam plus the air defense of Japan."
As for trade disputes, a memorandum of talks between Japanese Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ito and U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig on March 23, 1981, documents the proposal officially made by the United States for Japanese automakers to voluntarily restrain their exports to resolve the auto dispute amid escalating retaliatory pressure in the U.S. Congress and industry.
"Our concern is to preempt in both Europe and the United States the protectionist trends by some manifestation in the near-term of Japanese restraint in the areas of small car and small truck exports," Haig said.
But Ito told Haig that the Japanese government "was not yet prepared to respond in specific terms," according to the document.
Asked whether Washington wanted a government-to-government agreement, Haig said, "We were not seeking a formal agreement, but rather voluntary guidelines by the Japanese on which both sides had expressed their views and had the ability to assist in developing."
Haig and Ito agreed that some steps were needed to address the issue, although they shared the view that Japanese imports were not the cause of the U.S. auto industry's problems.
The two nations eventually struck a deal on voluntary plans and resolved the auto dispute.
Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
Mainichi Daily News
December 15, 2005
If the value of all the Japanese land "occupied" by the U.S. military was combined, there would be enough money to buy all of New York City, including the Statue of Liberty, which is a symbol of how little liberty Japan actually has, according to Flash (12/27).
The men's weekly claims to be outraged by what it calls Japan's blind obedience to the United States even as it was supposed to be negotiating with its ally to reduce the burdens, fiscal and otherwise, local governments carry here to host the U.S. military.
Flash says its own independent study revealed that Japan is home to 88 U.S. military installations, which combined take up 312 million square meters with a total land value exceeding 14 trillion yen.
"Using the results of the global real estate market survey carried out in 1999 by the former National Land Agency and the Japanese Association of Real Estate Appraisal, 14 trillion yen would be a sum large enough to buy all the land in New York City, based on the standard value of residential land," an appraiser familiar with the residential market tells Flash.
Of course, the figure doesn't include New York's mercantile nature and commercial value, but that doesn't change the fact that over 14 trillion yen worth of Japanese territory is being "occupied," the weekly says.
Tokyo ranks third among Japan's 47 prefectures in terms of the amount of territory used by the U.S. military, following only Okinawa and Kanagawa prefectures. Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials are actively seeking the return of land in the capital that is currently under the control of the U.S. military.
"Bases in Tokyo should have their status reviewed, downgraded and ultimately be returned to the control of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Yokota Air Field (U.S. Air Force Base) in particular is being strongly sought as the location of a third airport in Tokyo, where demand for flights increases yearly," a metropolitan government spokesman tells Flash. "As far as the metropolitan government is concerned, our policy for the time being is to continue to propose to the national government and U.S. military that the joint civilian-military use of facilities be permitted. We want the U.S. military to immediately return the Akasaka Press Center and Tama Service Annex should be opened up to as many Tokyo residents as possible."
The U.S. military presence in Tokyo also causes a decline in local land values, according to the veteran appraiser.
"Ground around Yokota Air Base is strong and able to withstand earthquakes, which makes it really good for housing. Other popular residential areas like Tokorozawa and Sagamihara are also homes to U.S. bases," the appraiser tells Flash. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is that there are these huge U.S. bases located in commutable areas within about an hour's train ride from central Tokyo and these prove to be considerable obstacles as far as things like land values and residential construction are concerned." (By Ryann Connell)
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
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
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
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.
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
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
Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
October 31, 2005
(Kyodo) _ Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine on Monday rejected the plan of the Japanese and U.S. governments for relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station within Okinawa Prefecture.
The plan is "totally unacceptable" to Okinawa, Inamine told reporters after his meeting with Defense Facilities Administration Agency Director General Iwao Kitahara at the prefectural government office in Naha. Kitahara visited the governor to brief him on the interim report announced by Japan and the United States over the weekend in Washington on plans for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, including the Futemma relocation, and to seek the understanding of the Okinawa leaders.
Without elaborating, Inamine said the latest plan creates more problems than the initial plan endorsed by the government in 2002, which calls for relocating the heliport functions of the Futemma base to an area off Henoko in Nago. "The governor offered some very critical remarks," Kitahara told reporters after his meeting with Inamine, held behind closed doors. "We will try to win Okinawa's understanding on the relocation plan by showing our good faith," he said.
Japan and the United States agreed last week on a specific relocation site for the heliport functions of the Futemma base in Ginowan, central Okinawa, to Nago, in the northern part of the island. The move involves using some land of the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago and reclaiming some land from the sea. Okinawa has demanded that Futemma base's heliport functions be relocated outside the prefecture. Inamine clarified that position Monday, saying he wants Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to exert strong leadership in changing the latest agreement.
Speaking before reporters, Nago Mayor Tateo Kishimoto also branded the plan as "unacceptable," citing potential safety and noise problems. The interim report announced Saturday by the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the United States includes specifics of the plan for relocating the Futemma heliport functions to Nago. Thousands of people gathered Sunday evening in a park in Naha, the prefectural capital, to protest against the plan.
Under an initial accord, struck in 1996 by the Japan-U.S. Special Action Committee on Okinawa, Washington would return the land of the Futemma base to Japan "within five to seven years" on the condition that its heliport functions be relocated within Okinawa Prefecture. That plan has been bogged down mainly due to strong opposition from local communities.
Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
Mainichi Daily News
WASHINGTON -- The governor of a Japanese state with several large U.S. military bases is urging high-level officials who are negotiating American troop relocations in Japan to remember the frustration of local residents.
Shigefumi Matsuzawa, the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, outside Tokyo, said people who live near the three large bases in his crowded state complain about noise and pollution and are in constant fear of accidents and falling aircraft parts from facilities they derive little economic advantage from. "They cannot tolerate the burden they've been shouldering," said Matsuzawa, who has no direct role in current talks between U.S. and Japanese officials on the realignment of the 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan.
The governor, speaking at a Washington think tank, said U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at the bases _ Atsugi, Camp Zama and Yokosuka _ should be shifted from Kanagawa, which has a population of 8.7 million, to other prefectures and overseas.
He said that while he appreciated that U.S. forces were necessary for Asia's security, he hoped they eventually would be replaced with Japanese self-defense soldiers. "We should head in the direction so that we could defend our own country by ourselves, and I see the current talks as a first step," he said through a translator.
Matsuzawa said his role will be to pass along his constituents' misgivings to Japanese negotiators at the talks, which center on a disagreement over where to relocate a Marine air facility that has spurred protests on the southern island of Okinawa.
Washington and Tokyo agreed almost 10 years ago to move the Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma, from the middle of a crowded city on Okinawa to a less congested location. While the two sides have since clashed, a Japanese official said Tuesday that negotiators were close to resolving the dispute.
Mainichi Daily News
Mainichi Daily News
October 26, 2005
Japan and the United States agreed on Wednesday to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture to the coastal area of Camp Swab in the prefecture city of Nago, government officials said. The agreement was reached in a telephone conversation on Wednesday between Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono and Richard Lawless, visiting U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense.
Under the compromise plan, a substitute airport for Futenma base will be built in the coastal area of Camp Swab. Washington complied with the demand that part of the runway that will stick out to sea be built in Oura Bay northeast of the camp. In return for the U.S. compromise, Tokyo agreed to extend the runway to 1,800 meters from the originally planned 1,500 meters.
Following the agreement, Japan and the United States will hold a two-plus-two meeting between foreign and defense ministers of the two countries in Washington on Saturday to work out an interim report on efforts to reduce and integrate U.S. bases in Okinawa.
Initially, the U.S. demanded that a substitute airport for Futenma base in Ginowan be built by reclaiming the sea south of Camp Swab. However, Ono rejected the demand and instead proposed that it be constructed in the costal area of the camp, part of which would stick out to the sea northeast of the camp to minimize its impact on coral and other marine life.
During a summit meeting in Kyoto on Nov. 16, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush are expected to demonstrate that they have agreed to reduce the burden on Okinawa in hosting the majority of U.S. bases in Japan, government sources said.
About 75 percent of U.S. bases in Japan are concentrated in Okinawa Prefecture in terms of land area even though the prefecture accounts for less than 1 percent of Japan's national land.
In 1996, Tokyo and Washington agreed to close Futenma base and return its land to its owners on condition that a substitute airport be built within Japan's southernmost prefecture.
Mainichi Daily News
Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
October 7, 2005
(Kyodo) _ The Japanese government is set to make final consultations toward giving up its own proposal and instead accept a U.S.-preferred plan for relocating the U.S. Marines Corps Futemma Air Station in Okinawa to break the deadlock in negotiations over the realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan, government sources said Friday.
The two sides are in dispute over two conflicting alternatives to an initial plan that has stalled. Washington is pressing for the option of building an airport on reclaimed land in shallow water within the reef alongside the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago, while Tokyo wants the airport constructed within the camp itself.
The United States has objected Japan's proposal, claiming it would affect the Marines' training at Camp Schwab and that it would draw opposition from local residents.
Washington expressed dissatisfaction with the stalemate over the issue by canceling U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Japan originally scheduled for late October, prompting the Japanese government to decide to compromise, the sources said.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda are expected to meet on the issue early next week, according to the sources.
The initial relocation plan was to build a 2,500-meter offshore civilian-military airport along the reef off Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago. But construction has long been bogged down due mainly to strong local opposition and environmental concerns, leading the two countries to come up with alternative options.
Aside from the choice of location, however, the two nations are basically in agreement over constructing a shorter 1,500-meter military-only airport so as to reduce the local burden and shorten the completion period to about five years from more than 10 years required in the initial plan.
Japan and the United States are planning to hold a "two-plus-two" top level security meeting between their defense and foreign affairs chiefs in Washington on Oct. 29 to adopt an interim report on the overall framework of the realignment.
Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush are then expected to confirm at a meeting in Japan in mid-November to accelerate discussions in order to reach a final agreement by next spring, the sources said.
The Japanese government, however, will not immediately withdraw its proposal and plans to request that the choice of location not be stipulated in the interim report, so that it can have more time until the final report to convince the local communities concerned, the sources said.
But negotiations are expected to be difficult as Washington has demanded that its "Nago-light" plan of building the airport in shallower waters be stated in the interim report.
The Japanese government is also most certain to face a rugged path in trying to gain approval from local authorities of the affected areas.
While Nago Mayor Tateo Kishimoto has said he will accept the Pentagon-favored plan, Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine has demanded that the Futemma operations be relocated outside of the prefecture if the initial Henoko plan is to be revised.
Moreover, while the U.S. plan is smaller in scale when compared to the initial Henoko plan, the construction of the airport will be close to residential areas and is likely to result in residents' protest campaigns due to environmental and noise issues.
The bilateral agreement to vacate the Futemma base dates back to 1996. Given its condition of relocating the helicopter functions within Okinawa Prefecture, the two nations had eventually agreed to build an offshore civilian-military airport at Henoko.
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October 3, 2005
(Kyodo) _ Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on Nov. 16 in Kyoto or somewhere else in the Kansai region, sources involved in bilateral relations said Sunday.
The Japanese and U.S. governments are trying to arrange the meeting in Japan before the U.S. president visits South Korea to attend the Nov. 18-19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's summit in Busan. Bush's visit to Japan, the first since October 2003 if realized, would be a short one, given the stalemate in bilateral talks over realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and Japanese resumption of U.S. beef imports, the sources said.
The Koizumi-Bush talks are being arranged as Japan and the United States remain apart over a plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, a key item in the bilateral talks on U.S. military realignment. The two countries plan to compile an interim report this month on the overall realignment framework, including the Futemma issue. But Japan and the United States have lagged behind schedule due mainly to strong opposition to relocation plans by the Okinawan people and Japan's latest House of Representatives election.
Dissatisfaction has also mounted in the United States as Japan has yet to follow up on last October's bilateral agreement that states Japan will partly lift the current ban on U.S. beef imports. Tokyo has said the safety of U.S. beef has yet to be confirmed according to Japanese standards. Japan, previously the largest importer of American beef, banned U.S. beef imports in December 2003, when the United States discovered its first case of mad cow disease.
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September 28, 2005
(Kyodo) _ The United States has rejected a proposed alternative option of building an airport within the U.S. Marines Corps' Camp Schwab to relocate the helicopter functions of the Marines' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa, sources close to ongoing bilateral talks said Wednesday.
In the senior working-level talks in Washington, the United States instead has urged Japan to consider another option of constructing an airport on reclaimed land in shallow water within the reef alongside Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago, the sources said.
The talks, involving senior defense and foreign affairs officials tasked with discussions on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, began the two-day talks Monday, but the two sides decided to continue the talks Wednesday.
At stake is bridging gaps over the two conflicting options to decide on an alternative option for the stalled initial plan of building a 2,500-meter offshore civilian-military airport along the reef off Camp Schwab to relocate the helicopter functions of the Futemma base in Ginowan.
The two nations have narrowed down the alternative plans to two, but differences over the two options are complicating the negotiations. The U.S. Defense Department is pressing for the plan to build an airport in the shallower water area and the Japanese Defense Agency wants to construct it within the camp.
During the ongoing talks, the United States clarified its position of rejecting the inland option, stressing that it would lead helicopters to fly over local communities -- one of the major issues for relocating the Futemma base -- and the Japanese government has not obtained support from the local authorities and residents, the sources said.
The two nations are otherwise basically in agreement over building a shorter 1,500-meter military-only airport so as to shorten the completion period to about five years from the more than 10 years required in the initial plan.
The Futemma issue is likely to affect the overall bilateral talks for crafting a comprehensive package on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The two nations plan to compile an interim report on the realignment by the end of October.
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September 4, 2005
(Kyodo) _ Some 700 protesters joined hands Sunday in front of the Defense Agency in Tokyo to call for the removal of U.S. military bases in Okinawa. The "human chain" demonstration was organized mainly by a civic group against the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan, central Okinawa island, to the Henoko area of Nago on northern Okinawa island.
"Give up construction of the military base in Henoko district. Close the Futemma base immediately," the protesters shouted at the front gate of the agency headquarters in the capital's Shinjuku Ward. The rally was held on the 10th anniversary of the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Okinawa by three U.S. servicemen, which ignited local anti-U.S. military movements.
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(Kyodo) _ Following is a list of major political parties' main pledges for the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election, based on manifestos released by the parties and written answers to Kyodo News questionnaires on their election pledges.
(Ruling parties)
The Liberal Democratic Party pledges:
(Post-election plans)
-- to maintain the coalition government with the New Komeito party.
-- to continue promoting Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform drives.
(Postal policy)
-- to pass once-defeated postal privatization bills through the Diet during the next parliamentary session.
(Social security)
-- to reform the pension, medical and nursing care insurance systems altogether.
-- to raise the government contribution to the basic pension scheme from one-third to half by fiscal 2009.
-- to unify private and public workers' pension systems.
-- to study child-rearing allowances and a tax system to support child rearing.
(Finances and tax)
-- to bring the primary national fiscal balance into the black in the early 2010s through structural fiscal reform.
-- to continue spending cuts without any areas exempted.
-- not to follow the governmental Tax Commission's recommendation to impose an income tax increase on salaried workers.
-- to drastically reform tax systems, including the consumption tax, by around fiscal 2007.
-- to create a small government and realize healthy finances and economic development through deregulation.
(Constitution)
-- to announce the party's new constitution draft by Nov. 15.
-- to aim for early enactment of laws as steps necessary to establish a new constitution, including a law to authorize a national referendum to revise the current Constitution.
(Diplomacy and security)
-- to beef up Japan-U.S. relations for world peace and prosperity and carry out diplomacy for peace through U.N.-focused international cooperation.
-- to improve and reinforce relations with China and South Korea and pursue an initiative to form an Asian-wide community.
-- to make more use of Japan's official development assistance to address global issues including the environment, poverty and infectious diseases.
-- not to normalize relations with North Korea without a solution to the abduction issue; to do its utmost to resolve the abduction issue through means including possible imposition of economic sanctions on the North.
-- to reinforce Japan-U.S. defense cooperation and alleviate the burden on Okinawa and other communities of hosting U.S. military bases through the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
-- to revise the Self-Defense Forces Law to make U.N. peacekeeping activities and other international cooperation one of its main duties.
The New Komeito party pledges:
(Post-election plans)
-- to keep the coalition government with the LDP.
(Postal policy)
-- to do its best to see the postal bills passed in the Diet after the election.
(Social security)
-- to realize 20 plans to support child-rearing through age 20, including beefing up of child-rearing and childbirth allowances.
(Finances and tax)
-- to thoroughly cut government spending and reduce government employees by 10 percent.
-- to oppose tax increases on salaried workers.
-- to thoroughly review tax systems by around fiscal 2007.
(Constitution)
-- to keep intact both the first and second paragraphs of Article 9 of the Constitution.
-- to study whether to add some elements to Article 9, including the existence of the SDF and international cooperation.
(Diplomacy)
-- to focus more on diplomacy with Asian countries and strengthen future-oriented cooperation with them to build their confidence in Japan.
-- to make all efforts to solve the North Korean abduction and nuclear issues mainly through the six-party talks but without hesitating to put some pressure on the North, including imposing economic sanctions.
-- to promote disarmament by reviewing the unanimous vote rule of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
-- to protect Japan's right to territories and marine resources.
(Other issues)
-- to give couples the option of having separate surnames.
-- to lower the age of the right to vote from 20 to 18.
-- to allow foreign nationals with permanent resident status to vote in local elections.
-- to expedite formulating legislation to address asbestos-caused health hazards.
Major parties' main election pledges -2-
(Opposition parties)
The Democratic Party of Japan pledges:
(Post-election plans)
-- to establish a new government without useless spending or improper administrative practices, not increasing taxes unless attaining administrative reform.
-- to drastically review budget allocations.
(Postal policy)
-- to reduce the 340 trillion yen in postal savings and postal life insurance money to an appropriate level.
-- to reduce the upper limit of postal savings per account from the current 10 million yen to 7 million yen during fiscal 2006 and then to 5 million yen.
-- to halve postal savings from the current 210 trillion yen in eight years.
-- to study every option about the future of postal businesses, including merger with any government-run financial institution, after scaling down postal savings and insurance.
(Social security)
-- to abolish the Diet members' pension system and unify all pension systems to create a system guaranteeing a minimum 70,000 yen monthly pension payment.
-- to abolish the Social Insurance Agency.
-- to pay a 16,000 yen monthly child-rearing allowance until a child graduates from junior high school and a 200,000 yen childbirth allowance.
(Finances and tax)
-- to reduce national spending by 10 trillion yen over three years through such means as halving large-scale state public works projects and a 20 percent cut in personnel costs for state employees.
-- to bring the primary balance of national finances into the black in eight years.
-- not to implement in three years any major tax increase to make up for national financial deficits.
-- not to increase income tax only on salaried workers.
(Constitution)
-- to seek furthering the current Constitution's three principles -- sovereignty by the people, respect for basic human rights and pacifism.
-- to revise the Imperial House Law to enable female accession to the throne.
(Diplomacy and security)
-- not to forget the damage and pain caused by Japanese colonial rule and aggression to the people of Asian countries.
-- to set up a national facility to pay respects to those who died in wars.
-- to strengthen relations with China and South Korea.
-- to seek creating an East Asian community and set up a common goal with other Asian countries to make the region a no-war area.
-- to revise the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement in three years.
-- to relocate U.S. Marine Corps bases in Okinawa Prefecture to other parts of Japan or abroad, taking the occasion of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
-- to study the creation of a unit other than the SDF for international peacekeeping operations.
-- to seek gaining a permanent seat for Japan on the U.N. Security Council.
-- to formulate new defense plans in two years after taking power, including defense buildup capable of protecting Japan.
-- to strictly keep Japan's civilian control of ballistic missile defense.
-- to formulate a basic law to deal with defense emergencies and establish a government crisis management agency.
-- to do its utmost for an early solution to the North Korean abduction, nuclear and missile issues.
-- to withdraw the SDF from Iraq by December and take measures to support Iraq in a way more suitable for Japan.
The Japanese Communist Party pledges:
(Post-election plans)
-- to play the role of a sound opposition party to oppose tax increases and protect Article 9 of the Constitution.
-- to aim to form a democracy-oriented coalition government to stop privileging major companies and stop following what the United States says.
(Postal policy)
-- to oppose postal privatization to protect the national postal network and services.
(Social security)
-- to shift the focus of budget allocations to social security and protect pension, medical, nursing care and welfare systems.
-- to create a system guaranteeing a 50,000 yen minimum monthly pension payment level, fully financed by the state.
(Finances and tax)
-- to oppose tax increases on salaried workers and consumption tax hikes.
-- to reduce national spending by 10 trillion yen by such means as cutting wasteful public works and military budget to reconstruct national finances.
-- to seek a suitable burden on major companies over national finances and amend a tax system privileging major shareholders and wealthy people.
(Constitution)
-- to oppose revising the Constitution.
(Diplomacy and security)
-- to oppose moves to justify Japan's past war of aggression and colonial rule.
-- to demand Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi not visit Yasukuni Shrine.
-- to demand withdrawal of the SDF from Iraq.
-- to oppose the strengthening and perpetuation of U.S. bases in Japan under the name of realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
-- to strive to make calls for abolition of the Japan-U.S. security treaty a majority opinion among the public.
(Other issues)
-- to do away with unpaid overtime work and long working hours.
-- to stop unequal treatment of temporary, contract and part-time workers.
-- to ban donations from companies and organizations to political parties and politicians.
The Social Democratic Party pledges:
(Post-election plans)
-- to seek to attain a government that reflects the policies of the SDP, chiefly attaining reliable social security systems, correcting social disparities and stopping tax increases.
(Postal policy)
-- to maintain Japan Post as a public corporation.
(Social security)
-- to unify pension systems, guaranteeing a basic monthly pension payment of 80,000 yen, fully financed by the state.
-- to beef up first-aid medicine, child medicine and obstetrical medicine.
(Finances and tax)
-- to review national spending, including public works.
-- to oppose income tax increases recommended by the government's Tax Commission.
-- to raise the maximum income tax rate to reduce privileges of high-income people and raise corporate tax rates.
-- not to allow raising the 5 percent consumption tax rate.
(Constitution)
-- to seek a creative expansion of the spirit of the Constitution, including pacifism and the protection of individuals' dignity and basic human rights.
-- to oppose the idea of enacting a law to authorize a national referendum to revise the Constitution.
(Diplomacy and security)
-- to immediately pull out the SDF from Iraq.
-- to largely cut U.S. forces in Okinawa.
-- to convert the Japan-U.S. security treaty into a nonmilitary friendship treaty in the future.
-- to scale down the SDF to a minimum level needed for defense.
-- to establish a secular facility for all the war dead.
(Other issues)
-- to guarantee equal treatment of nonregular workers.
-- to tighten regulations on overtime work and long working hours.
-- to make childbirth expenses and medical expenses of preschool children free and create child-rearing allowances.
-- to promote equality of both sexes.
-- to give couples the option of having different surnames and get rid of discrimination against children born out of wedlock.
-- to get rid of nuclear energy and promote natural energy. (END)
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August 30, 2005
Mainichi Shimbun
June 22, 2005
There is a wide perception gap over the necessity of U.S. bases in Okinawa between residents of the southernmost prefecture and those living on mainland Japan, according to a survey conducted jointly by the Mainichi Shimbun and the Ryukyu Shimpo. The Mainichi surveyed people randomly selected throughout Japan -- including Okinawa -- over the weekend, while the Ryukyu Shimpo, an local Okinawan newspaper conducted the poll on local residents from Friday to Sunday, prior to the 60th anniversary of the end of the Okinawa battle on June 23, 1945. Of the respondents, 47 percent nationwide pointed to the necessity of U.S. bases in Okinawa Prefecture while only 30 percent of Okinawa residents said U.S. bases in the prefecture are needed.
On the other hand, 45 percent of the pollees throughout Japan said U.S. bases in Okinawa are unnecessary while 70 percent of Okinawans said such military facilities are not needed. The results illustrated the perception gap between mainland residents and residents of Okinawa Prefecture, where 75 percent of U.S. bases are concentrated in terms of land areas, over the burden of hosting U.S. bases. Of those in the national survey who responded that U.S. bases in Okinawa are necessary, 67 percent cited the need to defend Japan and surrounding areas.
Among Okinawa residents who support U.S. bases in the prefecture, 50 percent answered they are effective in vitalizing the local economy while 40 percent cited security reasons. This suggests that a large number of Okinawans think they have no choice but to accept U.S. bases for economic reasons to secure jobs for local residents rather than for the defense of Japan. Of the pollees opposing U.S. bases in Okinawa, 49 percent of the respondents in the national survey and 70 percent of Okinawans pointed out that Okinawa bears an overly heavy burden of hosting such military facilities. Over half -- 55 percent -- of those in the national survey said they would voice opposition if U.S. bases were moved to their neighborhoods.
Mainichi Shimbun
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