Japan, U.S. remain apart on base row, agree on alliance+

HONOLULU, Jan. 12 Kyodo - Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remained apart Tuesday on a spat over a U.S. military air base that has strained Japan-U.S. relations, but still agreed to further deepen the bilateral
alliance as it marks its 50th anniversary this year.

Clinton said at a joint news conference with Okada following their talks in
Honolulu that Tokyo should implement at an early date a 2006 bilateral deal to
relocate the U.S. Marines Futemma Air Station in Okinawa.
''Our position remains that in terms of both the security arrangements needed
to protect Japan and to limit the impact of bases on local communities,
particularly on Okinawa, that the realignment road map presents the best way
forward,'' she said.
For his part, Okada said he reiterated Japan's plan to try to reach a decision
on the relocation issue by May. He said it is vital not to let the issue
adversely affect the bilateral alliance.
''It is important to resolve the Futemma issue...We want to minimize any impact
from it on the Japan-U.S. alliance,'' the Japanese minister said.
Despite the base row, Okada and Clinton shared the view that the bilateral
alliance is indispensable for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
''The alliance between the United States and Japan is a cornerstone of
America's engagement in the region and an essential pillar of the Asia-Pacific
security architecture,'' Clinton said.
Okada said he and Clinton formally agreed to take the opportunity this year,
which marks the 50th anniversary of the current bilateral security
arrangements, to launch consultations to further deepen the alliance.
He said later in his news conference that Japanese and U.S. foreign and defense
ministers will issue a joint document on Jan. 19, the day the revised security
treaty was signed 50 years ago.
Okada also said Japan and the United States agreed to hold a meeting of the
four ministers in the first half of this year for a midterm review of the
alliance consultations.
He said both countries will seek to come up with a final conclusion by
November, when Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack
Obama are expected to meet on the fringes of an annual Pacific Rim summit to be
held in Yokohama.
In the joint news conference, Clinton said, ''Our partnership depends on close
cooperation, coordination, and consultation, and I look forward to working with
Minister Okada to ensure that the next 50 years of our alliance are as fruitful
as the last.''
In Tokyo on Wednesday, Hatoyama called the Okada-Clinton talks ''extremely
meaningful,'' telling reporters that the two seemed to have communicated to
each other well their desire to deepen the alliance.
''We should appreciate it that the Japanese-U.S. alliance and security (treaty)
exist to defend this country,'' he said in an address to senior Self-Defense
Forces officers later in the day.
On the Futemma question, Hatoyama told the reporters that he would like the
United States to wait and see developments on the Japanese side ''because we
have said we will reach a final conclusion by May.''
''I believe (the government panel examining the issue) will work out a
conclusion both Japan and the United States, particularly the people of Okinawa
Prefecture, can understand,'' the prime minister said.
Starting consultations to discuss ways to deepen the alliance between Japan and
the United States was agreed between Hatoyama and Obama last November.
The United States had rejected moving ahead with such consultations amid the
Futemma dispute. It reversed course, however, apparently thinking that further
pressure on Japan would have a detrimental impact on overall relations.
Washington has been pressing Tokyo to stick to the 2006 deal under which the
heliport functions of the Futemma facility would be moved from a crowded
residential district to a less densely populated area in Okinawa by 2014.
But Hatoyama has delayed the decision and is looking into the possibility of an
alternative relocation site, including out of Okinawa or even outside the
country.
The 2006 deal is part of a broader agreement on the reconfiguration of U.S.
forces in Japan, including the transfer of about 8,000 Marines stationed in the
southernmost prefecture to Guam.
The relocation issue has emerged as a major sticking point between Japan and
the United States ever since Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan realized a
historic change of power last September with a pledge to seek what it calls
more ''equal'' Japan-U.S. ties.
Okada and Clinton met in Honolulu for about 80 minutes as the top U.S. diplomat
is on her way to visit Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Also in their talks, they discussed a host of global challenges such as the
nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran, the stability of Afghanistan and the
threat of climate change.
''We continue to work for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula within the framework
of the six-party talks,'' Clinton said, citing the stalled multilateral nuclear
disarmament talks involving North and South Korea, the United States, China,
Japan and Russia.
She also said that when dealing with North Korea, she will keep in mind the
issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.
''And I will, as I told Minister Okada, never forget the families of the
abducted, whom I met in Japan last February,'' she said. ''I heard their
stories, I looked at their pictures, and I carry that in my heart.''
Okada said he and Clinton shared concerns that the Pyongyang-proposed talks
with countries involved in the 1950-1953 Korean War to replace the armistice
that ended the conflict with a peace treaty might be another foot-dragging
tactic.
==Kyodo