Editorial
Building bridges with the U.S., one brick at a time
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will mark his diplomatic debut on Monday with a trip to the U.S. His packed schedule includes a U.N. summit on climate change, after which he will deliver a speech at a U.N. General Assembly session, participate in his first meeting with President Barack Obama, attend a U.N. Security Council summit meeting on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, and continue on to the G20 summit.
Cultivating a relationship with the U.S is the greatest diplomatic challenge facing Hatoyama's coalition government. Following Hatoyama's trip to China early next month, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will make his way to Japan, after which President Obama will come to Japan for the first time in mid-November. Hatoyama has revealed his intentions to place high priority on developing a relationship of trust with Obama. But it will not be long before Hatoyama is forced to come up with specific measures to the various issues looming large.
First on the agenda is the issue of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma's relocation as a part of the realignment of U.S. troops in Japan. The tripartite coalition government agreed to "move in the direction of reviewing" U.S. military realignment, but the specifics of this decision have yet to be revealed. In previous discussions, the Japanese and U.S. government agreed to relocate Air Station Futenma to the shores of Camp Schwab in Okinawa's Nago city, and the U.S. government expects this plan to be upheld.
The governor of Okinawa has until Oct. 13 to submit his opinion on an environmental impact assessment conducted by Japan's Defense Ministry on sites designated for relocation in previous Japan-U.S. agreements. Because the new Japanese government has yet to clarify its position on the matter, local officials have found themselves in a bind. Not only will a response from the Okinawa governor will constitute a fait accompli under the current agreement, depending on his response, there is a possibility that it could cause tension with the central government. If the environmental assessment brief is to be dropped, Japan must coordinate with the U.S. government ahead of time. In addition, Japan's national budget must be drawn up at the end of the year.
Will the government press forward with the Democratic Party of Japan's original proposal to relocate the air station to a location outside Okinawa Prefecture and Japan, or will the option of merging Futenma with Kadena Air Base in Okinawa -- one that has been backed by some members of the DPJ -- surface again? Or will the government pursue another solution to the issue? Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has said that he plans to make a decision by the end of the year, but is that not too late?
The extraordinary session of the Diet set to convene in late October will focus on whether the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) mission in the Indian Ocean to refuel U.S. and other vessels engaged in the war against terror will be extended when the Anti-Terrorism Special Measure Law expires on Jan. 15 next year. The U.S. government has officially announced its hopes Japan will continue its mission. While Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa has declared his intention to withdraw the MSDF from the mission, Foreign Minister Okada has been more evasive.
"We will not simply extend our current mission. Nothing more and nothing less (has been decided at this point)," he said.
If the MSDF is to be pulled out of the mission in January, Japan will be asked to replace the mission with another one supporting anti-terrorism efforts. There is a deep-rooted view within Japan that the refueling mission is an inexpensive and safe method of contribution, and indeed, Japan has limited options in how it can contribute to efforts in Afghanistan.
At the same time that he works to build trust with Obama, Hatoyama must consider all the topics that lie waiting to be dealt with on the agenda, and present specific measures for each and every issue.
(Mainichi Japan) September 21, 2009