U.S. pressures Japan on military package

WP ^ | 10/22/09 | John Pomfret and Blaine Harden

[TigerLikesRooster]

U.S. pressures Japan on military package

Washington concerned as new leaders in Tokyo look to redefine alliance

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, with Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa in Tokyo, pushed Japan to stick with a 2006 deal.

By John Pomfret and Blaine Harden

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Worried about a new direction in Japan's foreign policy, the Obama administration warned the Tokyo government Wednesday of serious consequences if it reneges on a military realignment plan formulated to deal with a rising China.

The comments from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates underscored increasing concern among U.S. officials as Japan moves to redefine its alliance with the United States and its place in Asia. In August, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won an overwhelming victory in elections, ending more than 50 years of one-party rule.

For a U.S. administration burdened with challenges in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea and China, troubles with its closest ally in Asia constitute a new complication.

A senior State Department official said the United States had "grown comfortable" thinking about Japan as a constant in U.S. relations in Asia. It no longer is, he said, adding that "the hardest thing right now is not China, it's Japan."

[bluejay]

> Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, with Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa in Tokyo, pushed Japan to stick with a 2006 deal.

If the Obama’s administration does not think twice about violating treaties why do they expect others to keep their word? Lets ask Poles and Czechs for their opinions.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Japanese should hire the Poles to meet with Gates. Maybe get a couple of hand shake pix...

[HospiceNurse]

Well Obamao wants to be the new FDR. Now he is at war with Japan.

Cool.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Does that mean Japan has to bomb Zero's 'hometown' Hawaii with warplanes escorted by Zero fighters again? :-)

Irony will be so rich.

[darkside321]

i don´t blame the japanese. why bet your money on the loser? with the raise of china and the delcine of the US
someone would be a fool to think that the US can contine to act as a counter weight in chinas own backyard.
btw. if i would be taiwan i would be very worried too.

[Ronin]

After seeing how Obama is willing to treat the rest of America’s allies, is it any surprise that they are starting to look after their own interests first?

It has to be said. Japan has gotten a bit tired of being taken for granted by American military planners.

[HospiceNurse]

WWII Zeros had Mitsubishi engines. Instead of bombing Japan, we should bailout Mitsubishi, Toyota, Nissan, and Subaru. We could then cut the salaries of their executives so they will all leave. The companies will crash and burn and Japan’s economy will collapse. Instead of “the bomb” we can use the “O-bomb-a”. It seems to be working against us.

[tet68]

Here we have the Obama regime threatening one of
our longtime allies over a policy signed by President
Bush, who as we all know is responsible for the mess
Obama is in. /sarc.

[Zhang Fei]

For Hatoyama, this is a twofer. First, he gets more money (from not paying Uncle Sam for the relocation) for the Scandinavian-style cradle-to-grave welfare state he wants to implement in Japan. Second, he gets credit for standing up to America, which many young Japanese (like young Koreans) think of as an imperial power that's rich only because it has occupation troops in places like Japan. I see tough sledding for Ogabe in the years ahead. I never thought I'd see the day Japan got its version of South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun (a real waste of oxygen who, mercifully, offed himself this year). But that day has arrived - an anti-American Japanese PM who's simultaneously going to do great harm to Japan's economy while downgrading its defenses.

Relevant commentary from WaPo readers:

The article is missing some facts.

FACT: The Gov’t of Japan picked the location for the Futenma Replacement Facility, not the US.

FACT: This is the second agreement the Government of Japan has signed dealing with this issue. The first agreement was the Special Action Committee (SACO) Agreement in 1996. In this agreement, both the US and Gov’t of Japan agreed to take certain actions on Okinawa. To date, the US has held up its side of the SACO agreement, and the actions agreed to be taken by the US are either already complete or waiting construction to be finished.

In the SACO Agreement, the Gov’t of Japan agreed to relocate the Futenma Airfield, AS REQUESTED BY THE PEOPLE OF OKINAWA. Nine years later, in 2005, the Gov’t of Japan still had not taken any action on the Futenma issue, despite their signing of an agreement that they would.

The latest agreement, signed by both the US and Japanese Governments in 2006, sweetened the deal for the Japanese, by agreeing to relocate 8,000 Marines to Guam if the Japanese would construct the Futenma Replacement Facility, something the Japanese previously agreed to but failed to undertake.

Now, once again, the Government of Japan is wavering, AND NOT LIVING UP TO ITS AGREEMENTS. This isn’t the US imposing itself on the Japanese.

FACT: The US has a defense treaty with Japan stating that, to defend the Japanese People, we will shed our son’s and daughter’s blood. The Japanese are under no such reciprocal agreement to defend us, or shed their blood for us.

That is our agreement, and the people of the US commit their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to live up to that. That is why the Marines are in Okinawa today.

Per the location of the replacement facility for the Futenma Airstation, if the Government of Japan doesn’t like the location, THEN THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE CHOSEN IT!!!

The issue is now about trust. An alliance, like any partnership, cannot function if one side is untrustworthy.

The Government of Japan wanted the US to move from the existing airstation. The Government of Japan signed TWO agreements to make this happen. The Government of Japan did not act on the first agreement. The Government of Japan determined the location for the replacement facility in the second agreement. Now the Government of Japan publically says they are unsure if they want to proceed?

Trust?

More:

I'm going to have to side with the hard-liners on this one.

Even after the millions of dead and tortured at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army, after the billions we pumped into their infrastructure, after the millions of jobs in manufacturing we gave them at our own loss in the USA, there are today many restaurants, hotels, sports clubs, public swimming pools, and schools that US citizens are barred from entering in Japan -- simply because we are 'gaijin' (non-Japanese).

On a recent assignment to Hokkaido, it was freaky to see white vans with huge speakers on top and the WWII-era 'Rising Sun' flag emblazoned on the sides shouting for a return to Japanese nationalism and a new standing army.

I learned that the majority of Japanese still feel exclusive and inherently superior above all others.

I learned, as a convertible carrying a fat, tattooed man, surrounded by a dozen motorcycles, blew their horns and revved their engines in front of the police station at 3:00am, that Japan is a place where the average citizen must leave in an uneasy acceptance of both their government and powerful Yakuza-Gitchi Gumi dons who control virtually every aspect of daily life -- unseen by most non-Japanese.

I saw how today's Japanese children were given school books glorifying and white-washing the horrific atrocities and nightmarish experiments on prisoners committed by the JIA and Unit 571 in WWII -- and erasing all mention of the Nanjing Massacre. And from this I learned that Japan is a nation that only feels comfortable with itself when living in denial of it's terrible past.

I believe that the US military should take complete governmental and regulatory control of Okinawa, and those citizens and community leaders that are upset by this should be removed.

I am pleased that the President has seen fit to send the message to these people that, "whine all you want, you are getting the treatment you deserve".

As far as I am concerned, the entire nation of Japan belongs to the USA -- lock, stock, and barrel.

Lest we forget.

Regrettably, Ogabe will probably cave, but this is the kind of thing we've come to expect from him. The Japanese have spent the last six decades sticking it to us on trade, just like the Chinese (and the South Koreans). We are now about to get the shaft on the defense umbrella we provide to them, thanks to Hatoyama. I'll be glad when this dirtbag is turfed in the next election. But the price of casting this jerk into the void might be the abrogation of the US-Japan defense pact, upon which the Japanese public will realize what a good thing they had going.

[TigerLikesRooster]

It is my impression that Hatoyama's coalition has a bunch of old Japanese hippies (including his wife) and former supporters of violent leftwing group Middle Core(中核: ChÅ«kaku.)

Former violent commies now masqueraded as soft cuddly liberals. Japan in 60's and 70's: the era of terrorism and violence. To this day, Japanese terrorists were the only ones who managed to blow up passenger airplanes in Tel Aviv airport.

[Zhang Fei]

I think if the US-Japan defense pact is abrogated, the Chinese could make a grab for the Ryukyus and, indeed, for all of the territories in the South China Sea they’ve been licking their chops over. We like to talk loosely about how Japan has nukes ready to go, if they really want them. If we bail from the defense treaty, Japan is going to find out how expensive nuclear programs really are.

[Zhang Fei]

It is my impression that Hatoyama's coalition has a bunch of old Japanese hippies (including his wife) and former supporters of violent leftwing group Middle Core

I've not heard of Middle Core. The Japanese Red Army Faction was probably the most effective non-state sponsored terrorist group around though.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Middle Core was a branch of Japanese Communist Party. They did most of the street riot in the name of protests.
Typically, they wore white helmet and white mask. Middle Core was written on the mask. If you go back to the media publication even in 80’s, you can see them.

Of course, for the full blown terrorism, Red Army Faction of Japan is near the top of the list.

[gaijin]

your posts are very interesting. I will look carefully for your feedback, which is thought-provoking.

[gaijin]

great ping. Thank you!