Panelists warn U.S. base row may develop into 'Japan passing'+

TOKYO, Jan. 12 Kyodo - Panelists discussing Japan-U.S. relations expressed concern Tuesday that prolonging a bilateral row over a U.S. military airfield in Okinawa may lead to a situation that could be described as ''Japan passing.''

''I think there is a serious danger the current situation will contribute to
Japan passing,'' said Kent Calder, director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center
for East Asian Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns
Hopkins University, during a discussion sponsored by Kyodo News and the SAIS
under the theme ''Japan-U.S.: New Governments and New Relations.''
Another panelist, Michael Auslin, director of Japan Studies at the American
Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, said he feels there is a
''strong sense of frustration'' among many U.S. officials who are dealing with
the issue.
But Auslin said that such frustration is ''good'' in a sense, because he thinks
it is a reflection of the ''continuing importance that is placed on the
alliance and on the relationship.''
''My concern is that the longer the base issue drags on unresolved...it is a
natural tendency for the diplomats in Washington to devote less time to it. If
they are not getting a return on the time that they are investing, they will
simply start putting their energies and their focus elsewhere. That maybe
elsewhere in Asia, it may be elsewhere around the world,'' he said.
Apparently to allay concerns over strained bilateral ties, Japanese State
Secretary for Foreign Affairs Koichi Takemasa stressed in a keynote speech at
the beginning of the event, ''The cornerstone of Japan's foreign policy is the
Japan-U.S. alliance. That will not change even after a change of government.''
Japanese Parliamentary Defense Secretary Akihisa Nagashima, meanwhile, said
that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's promise to settle the issue of where to
relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station by May is ''firm'' and that
he will work hard to seek a resolution.
The Futemma issue has emerged as a major sticking point between the two
countries ever since Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan ousted the
long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party from power last year with a pledge to seek
what it calls more ''equal'' Japan-U.S. ties.
Under a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord on the realignment of U.S forces in Japan, the
heliport functions of the Futemma facility are set to move to a less densely
populated area within the prefecture by 2014.
The United States has repeatedly pressed Japan to swiftly abide by the
bilateral agreement, but Hatoyama has delayed making a decision on the issue
and is exploring the possibility of an alternative relocation site.
The row has remained unresolved although the two countries celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the revision of the security treaty this year.
The five panelists who engaged in the discussion Tuesday were Calder, Auslin,
Nagashima, Taro Kono, a House of Representatives lawmaker from the LDP, and
Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, executive vice president of the Sojitz Research Institute.
==Kyodo