thedrifter
05-23-07, 11:06 AM
Japan passes law to fund Marines’ move to Guam
By Chisaki Watanabe - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 23, 2007 8:20:39 EDT
TOKYO — Japan passed a law Wednesday to fund the reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan and help move thousands of Marines from the country’s south to the U.S. territory of Guam.
Tokyo and Washington agreed last year on a plan to streamline American troops and give Japan greater responsibility for security in Asia. The deal also envisioned lightening the burden on local communities by downsizing U.S. bases and consolidating troops at other ones throughout the region.
Japan has agreed to pay $6 billion for the transfer of troops to Guam, about 1,500 miles south of Tokyo in the Pacific, while Washington has said it will contribute $4 billion.
Okinawa, a cramped southern island, is now home to more than half of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan.
“The realignment of the U.S. troops in Japan will contribute to maintaining peace and security in Japan. The realignment is also extremely important to reducing the burden on residents near defense facilities,” the legislation says.
Opponents said the enormous cost of the reorganization was not justifiable.
“On top of the money we already pay for U.S. forces in Japan, to pay further amounts is unheard of anywhere in the world, and that will not gain the understanding of the people of Japan,” Shokichi Kina, a lawmaker of the opposition Democratic Party, said shortly before Wednesday’s vote.
Under the realignment plan, the Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Ginowan will be relocated to Nago, both in Okinawa, and carrier-borne fighters of the Navy’s Atsugi base, southwest of Tokyo, will move to Iwakuni in western Japan.
A bill paving the way was passed into law Wednesday by the upper house of Parliament, after being approved by the lower house last month. It allows local governments hosting consolidated U.S. military facilities to receive state subsidies to expand their infrastructure to accommodate the increased troop burden.
It will also allow the state-run Japan Bank for International Cooperation to give loans to contractors hired to help relocate 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
Under a plan currently being considered, the bank will give loans and investments to a U.S. company that will build new housing for the Marines in Guam, according to the Defense Ministry. The company will pay back the money with rent it receives.
The $6 billion cost for the transfer of troops to Guam includes $3.29 billion in loans and investments by the bank, according to the ministry. The ministry said it is not clear yet how much subsidies it will pay for local governments.
Many Okinawans complain about the noise and crime related to the heavy U.S. military presence, but others say the troops benefit the economy in the prefecture, which has Japan’s highest unemployment rate.
The realignment of troops in Okinawa was sparked in part by the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl there by three American service members, which triggered large-scale protests. It is also part of the Pentagon’s global move to create a more streamlined force that can react more rapidly to far-flung conflicts.
Ellie
By Chisaki Watanabe - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 23, 2007 8:20:39 EDT
TOKYO — Japan passed a law Wednesday to fund the reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan and help move thousands of Marines from the country’s south to the U.S. territory of Guam.
Tokyo and Washington agreed last year on a plan to streamline American troops and give Japan greater responsibility for security in Asia. The deal also envisioned lightening the burden on local communities by downsizing U.S. bases and consolidating troops at other ones throughout the region.
Japan has agreed to pay $6 billion for the transfer of troops to Guam, about 1,500 miles south of Tokyo in the Pacific, while Washington has said it will contribute $4 billion.
Okinawa, a cramped southern island, is now home to more than half of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan.
“The realignment of the U.S. troops in Japan will contribute to maintaining peace and security in Japan. The realignment is also extremely important to reducing the burden on residents near defense facilities,” the legislation says.
Opponents said the enormous cost of the reorganization was not justifiable.
“On top of the money we already pay for U.S. forces in Japan, to pay further amounts is unheard of anywhere in the world, and that will not gain the understanding of the people of Japan,” Shokichi Kina, a lawmaker of the opposition Democratic Party, said shortly before Wednesday’s vote.
Under the realignment plan, the Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Ginowan will be relocated to Nago, both in Okinawa, and carrier-borne fighters of the Navy’s Atsugi base, southwest of Tokyo, will move to Iwakuni in western Japan.
A bill paving the way was passed into law Wednesday by the upper house of Parliament, after being approved by the lower house last month. It allows local governments hosting consolidated U.S. military facilities to receive state subsidies to expand their infrastructure to accommodate the increased troop burden.
It will also allow the state-run Japan Bank for International Cooperation to give loans to contractors hired to help relocate 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
Under a plan currently being considered, the bank will give loans and investments to a U.S. company that will build new housing for the Marines in Guam, according to the Defense Ministry. The company will pay back the money with rent it receives.
The $6 billion cost for the transfer of troops to Guam includes $3.29 billion in loans and investments by the bank, according to the ministry. The ministry said it is not clear yet how much subsidies it will pay for local governments.
Many Okinawans complain about the noise and crime related to the heavy U.S. military presence, but others say the troops benefit the economy in the prefecture, which has Japan’s highest unemployment rate.
The realignment of troops in Okinawa was sparked in part by the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl there by three American service members, which triggered large-scale protests. It is also part of the Pentagon’s global move to create a more streamlined force that can react more rapidly to far-flung conflicts.
Ellie