Japan steps up move to get to the bottom of alleged secret pact

TOKYO, Sept. 18 Kyodo -
Japan on Friday accelerated its efforts to get to the bottom of alleged secret
security pacts between Japan and the United States, with Foreign Minister
Katsuya Okada seeking cooperation on the issue during his meeting with Kurt
Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
But the two, speaking at separate press conferences, shared the view that the
issue should not undermine relations between Japan and the United States.
Campbell also expressed his view that an alleged 1960 secret nuclear pact is a
historical fact.
''Documents from the United States have been made available that paint a fairly
clear picture of the history associated with agreements between the United
States and Japan now almost 50 years ago, and those documents essentially speak
for themselves,'' Campbell said.
Under the alleged secret nuclear deal, which the two countries purportedly
agreed on in revising the Japan-U.S. security treaty in 1960, Tokyo would give
tacit approval for stopovers by U.S. military aircraft or vessels carrying
nuclear weapons, although the treaty stipulates the need for Washington to hold
prior consultations with Tokyo before bringing nuclear weapons into Japan.
U.S. diplomatic documents have already confirmed the existence of the deal
agreed upon in the Cold War era, but the pact, among others, drew renewed
attention earlier this year following testimonies to the media by former
Japanese vice foreign ministers.
During Friday's meeting, Okada told Campbell that the secret pact issue stemmed
from a ''discrepancy'' between the Japanese government's explanation and
disclosed information from the U.S. side so there will be nothing that would
''bring trouble'' to the United States.
Campbell, for his part, later told a press conference, ''We want very much for
this matter to be handled in such a way that in no way undercuts the strength
of the U.S.-Japan relationship.''
The meeting was held after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama officially launched
his Democratic Party of Japan-led administration on Wednesday. It also comes
ahead of the planned visit of Hatoyama and Okada to the United States next
week.
Okada and Campbell also affirmed they will enhance bilateral ties amid concerns
about Tokyo's new policy of seeking a more independent relationship with
Washington.
At the outset of the talks, Campbell said the United States is ''very much
looking forward to the strongest possible relationship between the United
States and Japan.''
In response, Okada said he is willing to meet with U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton in New York and that he hopes to ''do his best as a foreign
minister to make the Japan-U.S. alliance sustainable for the next 30 to 50
years, and to deepen it further.''
Japan-U.S. relations could face challenges ahead as the new Japanese government
is seeking an ''equal and close'' relationship with the United States and has
pledged to move ''in the direction of reexamining the realignment of U.S.
military forces in Japan.''
Such potential issues are casting a shadow also over U.S. President Barack
Obama's planned visit to Japan, which is likely to take place in November.
Referring to the visit, Campbell told a press conference that Obama, who is
calling for a nuclear-free world, has no current plans to visit Hiroshima,
target of a U.S. atomic bombing in 1945.
In regard to the realignment issue, which includes a relocation plan for the
U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station within Okinawa Prefecture, the U.S.
official said that the United States believes that the 2006 accord is ''the
best plan.''
But he added that he knows the new Japanese government wants dialogue with the
United States and said, ''We must be prepared to listen and to talk about all
aspects of our relationship.''
Meanwhile, on the secret pact issue, Okada told a press conference that he will
launch a ministry investigation team next Friday and around 15 people are
expected to be on the team.
Past Japanese governments have denied the existence of such secret deals and
Okada believes that revealing the facts would restore public confidence in
Japan's diplomacy.
==Kyodo