Japan Press Weekly

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2007 February 28 - March 6 [POLITICS]

Abe refuses to disclose total amount of expenses for realignment of U.S. forces in Japan

At a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting on March 1, Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira criticized the government for attempting to push through the draft budget that covers part of the expenses for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and other related bills even without disclosing the total amount of expenses.

Citing U.S. senior official’s remarks hinting that Japan will pay three trillion yen, Kasai asked Prime Minister Abe Shinzo how much money Japan will have to pay for the U.S. military realignment.

Abe in reply said, “We have not yet reached the stage of specifying the amount of the cost.”

Pointing out that the U.S. forces in Okinawa are doing anything they want in complete disregard of the safety of local residents, Kasai asked, “Did you say something to U.S. Vice President Cheney to stop these dangerous actions of the U.S. forces when you had talks with him the other day?”

Abe said, “I told Vice President Cheney that I would implement the U.S. realignment plan.”

Kasai accused the Abe Cabinet of flattering the U.S. and stated, “The public will never condone this realignment plan.”

Municipalities and residents hosting U.S. bases are opposing the “Road Map for realignment implementation” agreed upon between Japan and the United States, asserting that the realignment plan is nothing but an intention to strengthen functions and to perpetuate U.S. military bases in Japan.

The “Road Map” includes the construction of a new U.S. base on the shoreline of the U.S. Marine Corps Camp Schwab in Okinawa and the relocation of a U.S. Army Corps Command to U.S. Army Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture.

In addition, various other plans that are not specified in the “Road Map” have already been implemented one after the other such as the deployment of F-22 fighter jets to the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.