US general says progress needed on Japan bases

US general says progress needed on Japan bases
By ERIC TALMADGE (AP) – 15 hours ago

TOKYO — Japan must act urgently to make progress on a base relocation issue if Washington's realignment of its 47,000 troops in this country is to move forward on time, the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff said Friday.

Adm. Mike Mullen said Japan must decide on the relocation of a major U.S. Marine base on the southern island of Okinawa "as soon as possible." He added that the new Japanese government's decision to re-examine an existing agreement could derail the timing of the realignment.

U.S. and Japanese officials agreed three years ago to shift 8,000 Marines on Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam by 2014. But the plan, which includes the relocation of the Futenma airfield, has met local resistance and become a sticking point between the allies ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama next month.

"We're barely on track with what was laid out in 2006," Mullen told reporters. "When you start falling behind, you don't fall behind by days, you start falling behind exponentially."

Mullen added that "from a purely military perspective, it is very important that we move ahead with previous agreements."

"I'm hopeful that the new government will make a decision with respect to support for that as soon as possible," he said. "It's critical. Futenma really unlocks the door to the rest of the realignment."

Japanese new government has shown increasing reluctance to accept the agreement as it stands, however.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office last month, has said he wants to review the agreement, which was made with Japan's previous conservative leaders, and his top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, on Thursday said he does not expect the Futenma issue to be settled before Obama's visit from Nov. 12-13.

While the existing plan would lighten Okinawa's share of hosting more than half of the U.S. troops in Japan, it has met resistance from opponents who want the base closed completely and not replaced, or moved off Okinawa altogether.

The opposition has stalled efforts to settle on a final plan for where the base should be relocated, although the Camp Schwab area, which is in a less crowded part of Okinawa, remains the most likely candidate.

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