Japanese Government Approves Changes in the US Troop Deployment

Japanese officials reported today that their government agreed to changes the US military intends to make regarding the troops deployed there. In this way, Japan will achieve a greater degree of responsibility as far as the Asian continent is concerned.


The initial plan of the realignment was drafted in April, and it includes the rationalizing of US forces deployed in Okinawa, which is currently overburdened with 23,500 US troops of the total 50,000 deployed in Japan. Thus, 8,000 troops will be relocated in the island of Guam, a US-controlled territory in the Pacific Ocean, a complex operation which will cost around 10.3 billion dollars, out of which Japan will pay 6 billion dollars.

On the other hand, the plan agreed upon on Tuesday does not make reference to a pile of details, some of which are regarded as crucial. One of them refers to the fact that there is no stipulation of the total cost of the operations on the whole, plus no account of the method in which these costs are going to be divided between the two nations. Moreover, no specification was made regarding another matter of controversy - the construction of a new airfield with a double runway. No deadline was given for the forwarding of concrete details either.

Okinawa Governor, Keichi Inamine, stated that he does not fully support the relocation plan and criticized the Japanese government for not specifying all the details before agreeing. He is supported by local governments and civic groups, which advocate for US reducing its troops and returning military bases to the control of the Japanese government. On top of that, people living in Okinawa have long complained about the noise and the crimes taking place around the base.

In reply to these concerns expressed by the population and in an effort to tone them down, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, declared that the wishes of all communities will be listened to and dealt with until a compromise solution is found.