Japan, U.S. Set for High-level Working Group Talks

Japan and the United States are set on Tuesday to hold their first high-level working group talks on what to do about the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and relocation of American forces from Okinawa.

The meeting will be the first since U.S. President Barack Obama and Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama agreed to set up the group on Friday.

"It will be a very difficult issue, but as time goes by I think it will become more difficult to resolve the issue. So we understand we need to resolve the issue as soon as possible and we will work to do that," said Hatoyama at a Friday news conference. "By doing so we will be able to further strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance."

Obama also said, "Our goal remains the same, to provide security to Japan while providing the minimum intrusion on the people that live here," adding that working toward reaching an agreement on this issue was essential.

The meeting will be attended by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and a number of deputies on the Japanese side. The United States will send its Ambassador to Japan John Roos, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Wallace Gregson and a number of deputies.

The working group will review an agreement signed by former governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan and the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush. Under that agreement, 8,000 U.S. troops were to remain in Okinawa while the rest, more than 10,000, were to be moved to Guam, with the expense for the changes in part footed by Japan.

Since coming to power in September, the DPJ has repeatedly said that it would like to see changes to that agreement, though it has softened its tone in recent weeks. On Monday, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said it would be difficult to scrap the 2006 deal, but that other options, such as merging the two bases of Futenma and Kadena and asking for reductions in aircraft noise pollution, would be explored.

The issue of the future of U.S. troops in Okinawa has been a source of tension between the United States and Japan since the DPJ came to power in September, and despite the positive message delivered by Obama and Hatoyama last Friday after their meeting, coming to a new agreement is likely to test the strength of the alliance.

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