Campbell stresses smooth preparation ahead of Obama`s visit to Japan+

TOKYO, Nov. 5 Kyodo -
The top U.S. diplomat for Asia stressed Thursday in Tokyo that the United
States and Japan are ''working very well together'' ahead of U.S. President
Barack Obama's visit to Japan, apparently aiming to allay concern stemming from
bilateral discord on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
affairs, made the remarks after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya
Okada, during which they agreed to continue coordination through diplomatic
channels over issues including the realignment and aid for Afghanistan, a
foreign ministry source said.
''The president is very much looking forward to his visit to Japan next
week...I think we are extraordinarily pleased with the preparations,'' Campbell
told reporters, although he did not reply to a question on whether he and Okada
had discussed the thorny issue of where to relocate a major U.S. Marine
airfield in Okinawa.
''We are fully committed to this (U.S.-Japan) alliance. We think that we are
working very well together,'' he added.
The issue involving the U.S. Marines Corps' Futemma Air Station has recently
emerged as a major sticking point between the United States and the new
Japanese government led by the Democratic Party of Japan, which has pledged to
move toward reexamining the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
Under a bilateral accord struck in May 2006, the heliport functions of the
Futemma Air Station, located in a downtown residential area of Ginowan, are set
to be moved to a less densely populated area in Nago, northern Okinawa, by
2014.
The United States is pressing Japan to abide by the existing deal, but Japanese
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told a Diet committee Wednesday that he is still
eager to move the airfield out of Okinawa or even out of Japan.
But Hatoyama also suggested that he would like to find an answer by taking heed
of the Japan-U.S. accord and the feelings of people in Okinawa, which hosts the
bulk of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
Okada, for his part, has floated the idea of merging Futemma's heliport
functions with the nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base, also in Okinawa, though the
plan was considered and dismissed during past bilateral talks.
Campbell's one-day visit to Japan came shortly after Tokyo announced the
cancellation of Okada's planned visit to the United States this week for talks
with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Okada was hoping to go to the United States before Obama's two-day visit to
Japan starting Nov. 12, apparently to discuss the Futemma relocation issue. But
he decided to give up due to the Japanese parliamentary schedule.
At the start of the meeting in Tokyo, Campbell told Okada about his visit to
Myanmar on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Myanmar, Campbell met with detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while saying that the U.S. government is
willing to improve ties with Myanmar junta.
''So it's a first step, an exploratory mission and we were able to lay out our
overall approach to the appropriate stakeholders inside the country,'' Campbell
told Okada.
It was the first time in 14 years that direct talks took place between a
high-level U.S. official and Suu Kyi.
==Kyodo