US says confident of deal to end Japan base row

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BANGKOK, Apr (AFP): A top US envoy voiced optimism Sunday that Washington and Tokyo would be able to resolve a row over the relocation of a controversial US base that has strained ties between the two allies.
The comments by US assistant secretary Kurt Campbell come as Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is expected to draw up a draft plan for dealing with the issue on Monday, ahead of talks later in the week in Washington.
The Japanese government has been hunting for months for a new home for the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is currently located on the southern island of Okinawa and faces strong opposition from residents.
But Hatoyama has backtracked on an election pledge to move the base off the island and last week conceded that most of the US operations would have to be moved within Okinawa, as agreed by a previous conservative government in 2006.
"I remain confident that we will be able to arrive at an outcome that meets the operational needs of the United States but is also politically responsible," said Campbell, who is assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
"Japan remains our closest ally in Asia," he said at a press conference in Bangkok. "It's absolutely essential that we have a strong and stable relationship between Tokyo and Washington as we have to confront uncertainty in the Asia-Pacific region."
After victory in World War II the United States set up scores of bases in Japan and under a post-war security pact is committed to defending the country, which has renounced offensive military action.