Top U.S. military officer warns Japan against reneging on Futemma plan+

TOKYO, Oct. 23 Kyodo -
Visiting U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen on Friday warned
Japan against reneging on a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord concerning the relocation of
a U.S. military airfield within Okinawa, saying not honoring the pact would
''diminish the security support for Japan.''

Navy Adm. Mullen told reporters at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo that he sees the
planned transfer of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in downtown
Ginowan to the northern Okinawa city of Nago as ''an absolute requirement in
terms of whole realignment pieces.''
''I don't believe, from the military standpoint, it is possible to provide the
kind of security and defense support to Japan and to the region without it,''
Mullen said, referring to the current bilateral accord on moving the Futemma
facility by 2014.
''Moving it (the Futemma base) somewhere else diminishes the security support
for Japan and the region,'' he said.
Mullen's remarks are in line with the tough stance shown earlier this week by
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates toward Japan's new government, which has
been reviewing the bilateral negotiations leading to the 2006 accord in its
attempt to seek more ''equal'' Japan-U.S. ties.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said his government will seek to move the
heliport functions of the Futemma facility outside Okinawa, or even outside
Japan -- a proposal that would contravene the bilateral pact that took years to
reach.
Mullen also expressed hope that the Hatoyama Cabinet will reach
a conclusion on whether to alter the realignment accord by the time U.S. President
Barack Obama visits Japan on Nov. 12 and 13.
The top U.S. uniformed military officer met Friday with Foreign Minister
Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and confirmed the
importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance, according to Japanese government
officials.
In their meeting, Okada told Mullen that Tokyo will try to reach a conclusion
on the Futemma issue as soon as possible, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Okada also told the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff that Japan has been
considering new support measures for Afghanistan, such as vocational training,
following the scheduled end in January of the Japan's refueling mission in the
Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around the
war-torn country.
At the embassy, Mullen cast doubt on the idea of a no-first-use nuclear
doctrine advocated by Okada, saying it would ''dramatically reduce our
flexibility.''
He called for careful discussions on the doctrine as the U.S. nuclear
deterrence extended to Japan has been serving well and the matter concerns the
security of Japanese people in a region where threats continues to grow.
==Kyodo