Japan, U.S. have differences over range of security issues

Following are questions and answers on some of the issues:

What Will Happen to U.S. Forces?

Japan, whose own forces are restricted by its pacifist constitution, hosts about 47,000 U.S. military personnel, a source of irritation for communities near military bases, with many complaints about crime, noise, pollution and accidents. The ruling Democratic Party's election manifesto promised to rethink a planned redeployment of U.S. troops and propose amendments to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) under which U.S. troops operate in Japan.

Washington and Tokyo have agreed to ease the burden of U.S. bases on the southern island of Okinawa by closing a 4,000-strong U.S. Marine Corps air base in the centre of a town and moving it to a less populated area in the north of the island. The deal means 8,000 Marines will be moved from Okinawa, partly at Japan's expense, to the U.S. territory of Guam.

But many residents of Okinawa, which suffered one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and remained under U.S. control until 1972, are dissatisfied with the plan to relocate Futenma air base for environmental and other reasons. Hatoyama has said the Marine base at Futenma should be moved off Okinawa, but his government has not agreed on an alternative site, although the foreign minister has suggested merging Futenma's functions with a U.S. air force base on the island.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates last month pressed Japan to resolve the issue ahead of Obama's visit. Washington wants to put an end to years of discussions about the project, which is currently scheduled to be completed in 2014.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email