Japan to ask US to move military bases

JAPAN plans to ask the United States to move some US marine bases from its southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to a location outside Japan, a Japanese newspaper said yesterday.

The report comes as Washington considers the details of its Global Defence Posture Review, under which it plans to cut the number of US troops deployed overseas by up to 70,000.

In return for the removal of the 2,600 marines, Japan would offer the US extra storage facilities for weapons, fuel and other military equipment, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Tokyo is reportedly also considering allowing US troops to use domestic military bases and civilian airport and port facilities, something currently only permitted in emergencies.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and US President George W Bush agreed last month to accelerate talks on easing the military burden on Japan, especially Okinawa, after a dispute over the handling of a military helicopter crash.

Tokyo complained that the United States resumed CH-53D Sea Stallion flights without fully explaining the cause of a crash involving the same model at a university campus in Okinawa in August. Three crew members were injured in the crash but no one on the ground was hurt.

Mr Koizumi said last week that he would consider relocating some functions of US bases to the mainland, in line with a US request.

Difficulty in persuading local governments to play host to the troops led the government to decide to ask for their removal.

Okinawa, Japan’s poorest prefecture and home to about half of the 47,000-strong US military presence in Japan, has long resented bearing what many see as an unfair share of the defence burden.