Japan, U.S. agree on troops' cooperation on disaster relief+

TOKYO, Feb. 25 Kyodo - Japan and the United States agreed Thursday during senior working-level discussions aimed at deepening the bilateral alliance that their troops should cooperate in the areas of disaster relief and humanitarian and reconstruction
assistance, Japanese government officials said.

They also plan to work out the details of how to respond to disasters such as
tsunami and earthquakes by sharing the two countries' experiences, the
officials said.
The bilateral talks to deepen the alliance effectively started earlier this
year, which marks the 50th anniversary of the current bilateral security
treaty.
During the talks, the two allies are expected to develop a common awareness of
the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and also discuss specific
areas in which they are seeking to enhance cooperation, including information
assurance, cyber security, and issues associated with space.
A review of Japan's annual state expenses for U.S. military forces in Japan is
also to be discussed, but a Foreign Ministry source said that in-depth talks
are unlikely to take place when the prospects are unclear on the thorny issue
of where to relocate a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa.
Under the agreements with Washington, Tokyo covers part of the expenses for
U.S. troops staying in Japan, such as utility costs, and salaries of Japanese
employees working at U.S. bases in Japan. The spending is often called the
''sympathy'' budget.
As part of the process to deepen the alliance, the two countries have agreed to
hold the so-called ''two-plus-two'' meeting of the four foreign and defense
ministers in the first half of this year.
They also hope to come up with a final conclusion concerning the process by
November when U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to visit Japan for an
annual Pacific Rim summit.
==Kyodo