U.S. willing to mull base-related environment pact with Japan+

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 Kyodo -
The United States has expressed its willingness to discuss with Japan a
possible special bilateral pact that would address environmental pollution or
destruction at U.S. military bases in Japan, the governor of Japan's Kanagawa
Prefecture said Friday.

The positive U.S. attitude emerged when Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa and
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima held separate talks with senior U.S. defense and
state department officials, Matsuzawa told a joint news conference with Nakaima
in Washington.
Matsuzawa said such a pact, if concluded, will be the first step toward an
eventual goal of revising the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement, which
governs U.S. military operations in Japan and legal arrangements for its
personnel.
''We have won a full understanding that our proposed special environmental pact
will contribute to strengthening the foundation of the Japan-U.S. alliance,''
he said.
The SOFA gives virtual extraterritorial rights to U.S. personnel and there are
growing calls for a revision to ensure that suspects in criminal cases are
handed over to Japanese police.
The United States has long been reluctant to revise the SOFA, saying only that
crimes committed by U.S. personnel can be tackled through improved operation of
the agreement.
The proposed special environmental pact is intended to allow Japanese
authorities to conduct effective on-site inspections at U.S. bases and
establish procedures to prevent and eliminate pollution. More information will
also be disclosed to ease the anxiety of local residents.
In a meeting with the governors, Wallace Gregson, assistant secretary of
defense for Asia and the Pacific, was quoted as saying the United States wants
to discuss environmental issues arising from the U.S. military presence.
Gregson also singled out the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee as a forum to take up
such issues as it specifically deals with SOFA-related issues.
In a separate meeting with them, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Joseph Donovan said the United States wants its military personnel in Japan to
be good neighbors for the Japanese and is willing to look into the proposed
pact to improve its response to environmental issues.
Matsuzawa said he and Nakaima understand that Japan and the United States will
formally launch talks on the proposed pact ''promptly'' as both governments are
now positive toward it.
The Kanagawa and Okinawa governors are visiting the United States as chairman
and vice chairman of a group of governors representing prefectures that host
military facilities.
On the thorny issue of transferring the U.S. Marines Futemma Air Station in
Okinawa, Nakaima reiterated his tolerance of relocating it within the
prefecture in line with an existing Japan-U.S. deal.
''I think it best to move it out of the prefecture. But in light of
the...history (of addressing the issue), it cannot be helped to accept its
relocation within the prefecture,'' he said.
Complaining about the conflicting views expressed by Japanese Prime Minister
Yukio Hatoyama and his Cabinet members, Nakaima said he wants the Tokyo
government to come up with a unified stance ''as soon as possible.''
Under a 2006 bilateral accord on the reconfiguration of U.S. forces in Japan,
which took years to reach, the Futemma airfield is to be transferred from
downtown Ginowan to a coastal area in Nago by 2014, both in Okinawa.
But Hatoyama has repeatedly said he is eager to move the base out of Okinawa or
even out of Japan in accordance with his campaign pledge for the Aug. 30
general election, in which his Democratic Party of Japan won a sweeping
victory.
Differences among Japanese Cabinet members are compounding the issue, with
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa backing the existing deal but Foreign
Minister Katsuya Okada floating the idea of transferring the base to the nearby
U.S. Kadena Air Base.
==Kyodo