Okada, Steinberg agree to cooperate on Iran issue+

TOKYO, March 5 Kyodo -
The United States and Japan are ''very well coordinated'' in dealing with the
Iranian nuclear standoff, visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James
Steinberg said Friday after his talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya
Okada, as moves have intensified to impose fresh economic sanctions on Tehran.

On the thorny bilateral issue of where to relocate a U.S. Marine base in
Okinawa, Steinberg only told reporters in Tokyo that ''both sides are working
very productively.''
Sources close to bilateral ties have said that Tokyo has told Washington that
it will not go through with a relocation plan the two countries agreed on in
2006, despite Washington's call to stick to the plan, which took years to
reach.
The Foreign Ministry said in a press release that Okada and Steinberg
reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-U.S. security agreements and agreed to
cooperate on various global issues including the Iranian nuclear standoff as
well as in dealing with North Korea.
Before coming to Japan on Thursday, Steinberg and other U.S. officials visited
China, where they are believed to have sought China's backing for fresh
sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. China has been reluctant to support
the move.
Saying Japan has a critical role to play in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue
because of its support for the nonproliferation regime and influence over Iran,
Steinberg told reporters in Tokyo, ''I think we have a very well coordinated
and common approach to this critical question.''
''The international community now expects Iran to take unequivocal steps to
come into compliance with its international obligation, so there clearly will
be consequences,'' he also said.
Amid U.S.-led moves toward imposing sanctions on the country, Okada told a
press conference later in the day, ''If a certain direction is decided
internationally, Japan will implement what is decided with sincerity.''
In February, Okada made similar comments to Iran's parliament speaker Ali
Larijani during his visit to Japan. Okada also called on Iran to suspend its
nuclear enrichment activities to resolve the nuclear standoff.
On the issue of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station, Prime Minister
Yukio Hatoyama told reporters on Thursday that he believes his government
should come up with a plan for where to relocate it by the end of this month.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told a press conference Friday that the
government plan would serve as a basis for negotiations with the United States
and other parties concerned.
The Japanese government has said that it will settle the issue by the end of May.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to transfer the heliport functions
of the Futemma facility in Ginowan to a coastal area in the Marines' Camp
Schwab located in the less densely populated city of Nago in the same
prefecture by 2014. But Tokyo started to review the accord in the wake of the
historic change of government in September.
Now the Japanese government has seriously begun considering moving the facility
to an inland site at Camp Schwab as well as a plan that involves reclaiming an
area between the White Beach Area in another part of Okinawa and a nearby tiny
island, according to the sources close to bilateral ties. The White Beach Area
is also used by the U.S. military.
But the United States is increasingly reluctant to accept a plan that requires
a change in the relocation site.
Okada told the press conference that the Futemma issue was touched on during
the meeting with Steinberg, but said that he will not speak in detail about the
exchanges.
Steinberg also separately met with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji
Yabunaka and they agreed on the need to further deepen the bilateral ties,
according to the Foreign Ministry.
==Kyodo
2010-03-05 22:57:38