ID :
99933
Thu, 01/14/2010 - 08:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/99933
The shortlink copeid
Hatoyama shows appreciation for Japan-U.S. security alliance+
TOKYO, Jan. 13 Kyodo - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama showed his appreciation Wednesday for the Japan-U.S. security treaty ahead of the 50th anniversary of its key revision next week, saying the pact is indispensable for Japan's defense.
In an address to some 170 senior Self-Defense Force officers and Defense
Ministry officials, the premier asked, ''As a nonnuclear power, can Japan
defend itself on its own in a world which has countries that remain nuclear
states and nations that have ambitions to go nuclear?''
''We should be grateful for the presence of the Japan-U.S. security treaty to
protect our country,'' Hatoyama said. ''I understand this year will be a very
important year to further deepen the bilateral alliance.''
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
formally agreed in Honolulu on Tuesday to take the opportunity of this year
marking the 50th anniversary to launch consultations to further deepen the
alliance.
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa also stressed in his speech the importance of
strengthening Japan-U.S. security arrangements ''to secure peace and safety for
our nation.''
Kitazawa urged the SDF officers and ministry officials to proactively advance
cooperation with the United States in such areas as building a ballistic
missile defense system, conducting joint drills and promoting exchanges of
technology.
The defense chief also said the ruling coalition will ''try to find an
appropriate relocation site'' of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in
Okinawa that would satisfy both the United States and Okinawa residents.
Where to relocate the airstrip has strained Japan-U.S. ties as the Hatoyama
government has been exploring the possibility of moving it outside Okinawa or
even abroad despite a 2006 accord with the United States to relocate it within
the nation's southernmost prefecture.
Hatoyama and Kitazawa also expressed gratitude to SDF officers involved in a
refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism
operations. The activities, which began in 2001, will end Friday as the law
authorizing them will expire.
''Since our policy is different from that of the previous government, those
engaged in the Indian Ocean mission will return to Japan. But I cannot thank
each person enough for his or her efforts in the refueling operations,'' the
premier said.
==Kyodo
In an address to some 170 senior Self-Defense Force officers and Defense
Ministry officials, the premier asked, ''As a nonnuclear power, can Japan
defend itself on its own in a world which has countries that remain nuclear
states and nations that have ambitions to go nuclear?''
''We should be grateful for the presence of the Japan-U.S. security treaty to
protect our country,'' Hatoyama said. ''I understand this year will be a very
important year to further deepen the bilateral alliance.''
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
formally agreed in Honolulu on Tuesday to take the opportunity of this year
marking the 50th anniversary to launch consultations to further deepen the
alliance.
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa also stressed in his speech the importance of
strengthening Japan-U.S. security arrangements ''to secure peace and safety for
our nation.''
Kitazawa urged the SDF officers and ministry officials to proactively advance
cooperation with the United States in such areas as building a ballistic
missile defense system, conducting joint drills and promoting exchanges of
technology.
The defense chief also said the ruling coalition will ''try to find an
appropriate relocation site'' of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in
Okinawa that would satisfy both the United States and Okinawa residents.
Where to relocate the airstrip has strained Japan-U.S. ties as the Hatoyama
government has been exploring the possibility of moving it outside Okinawa or
even abroad despite a 2006 accord with the United States to relocate it within
the nation's southernmost prefecture.
Hatoyama and Kitazawa also expressed gratitude to SDF officers involved in a
refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism
operations. The activities, which began in 2001, will end Friday as the law
authorizing them will expire.
''Since our policy is different from that of the previous government, those
engaged in the Indian Ocean mission will return to Japan. But I cannot thank
each person enough for his or her efforts in the refueling operations,'' the
premier said.
==Kyodo
