The Japanese Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan for the most significant reorganisation of US troops and bases in Japan in decades. The final plan, aimed at enhancing bilateral security ties and realigning thousands of US troops, is part of Washington's strategy to reorganise its military around the world to make it a more flexible force. The realignment plan is based on the deal Tokyo and Washington signed May 1 to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station within the Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa and shift 8,000 of the 18,000 US Marines from there to Guam by 2014. Japan, which has relied on the US to defend it for almost 60 years, has the largest concentration of US military in Asia, with more than 50,000 troops at bases throughout the country. About half the US military in Japan are located in Okinawa, the nation's poorest prefecture. "This plan intends to reduce the burden on the local residents and is quite meaningful in the sense of strengthening the US-Japan alliance in the current security climate," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said at a news conference.But whether Okinawa Prefecture would agree to plans to build a new US military airfield there as an alternative to the Marines' Futenma airbase is unclear, due largely to noise, crime and environmental concerns. Opposition to the American military presence in Okinawa has remained strong since the 1995 rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three US servicemen, which sparked huge anti-base protests. The government said it will launch a joint council with local governments in Okinawa to quickly draw up construction plans, and will study the feasibility and environmental impact of the new coastal airfield. "If we continue with the negotiations with local authorities and listen to their demands, I think we can get their understanding and cooperation," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters. Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine, however, issued a statement Tuesday saying the Cabinet decision without thorough consultation with local communities was extremely deplorable. Inamine has yet to officially accept the relocation plan, which has long been a point of contention between Tokyo and local authorities.
Koizumi also said the government needs to carefully study the costs and that it will take time to come up with the accumulated cost estimate, indicating it may be unlikely the figures will be presented during the current parliament session, which is scheduled to end June 18 unless extended. Japan has agreed to pay 59 percent of the total cost of this move or roughly USD 6.09 billion, down from the 75 percent requested by the US. The realignment also includes the relocation of carrier-based fighter jets, deployment of a new US radar system for ballistic missile defense at a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force base, and dispersing flight drills from heavily burdened areas.