Japan to speed up decision on relocation of U.S. base

Hahahaha!! From, "We don't feel the need to rush," to this, after a stern US warning.

As usual, we know who's 'wearing the pants' in this relationship.

I hope Mr Hatoyama will keep his promises to those Okinawa inhabitants who voted his party, because that was a committment too important otherwise he will be untrustworthy like the LDP,he has an obligation to made his promises materialized,the marines must get out of the island!

The US marines making not just the noise problems but also traffic and crime problems to the local inhabitants,it wasnt just they move to a less dense area in the island can solve those problems,so they must get out!

I just saw a report that said Mr. Hatoyama will not make a decision before President Obama visits. Hatoyama is trying to look strong in front of people. Just like if you seen two J-men getting into. The usually just stick out their chest speak loudly not saying anything important then grunt. Sometimes they bump each for added effect. It is like a National Geographic episode.

I remember a couple of weeks when they showed Gates's meeting on TV. They were both sitting in chairs and the media was taking photos. Mr. Hatoyama made this serious pose and tried to stare down Mr. Gates. The look on Mr. Gates face looked as if he wanted to laugh.

Same thing with Clinton in North Korea. He promised NK he wouldn't smile in the photos to make it appear to be a serious situation. Every with common sense knew it was a stunt by NK to get the people to support the Regime. Mr. Hatoyama just like NK wants a way out of the bull@%## without looking too foolish.

marines leave, and okinawa's unemployment rate will go to 35%...the govt in tokyo will do nothing, as always, and in less than a year the locals will be begging to have the bases back

Stirfry, that will never happen.

They should start discussions on relocating Ginowan, which sprung up around Futenma, which was established when there was nothing else around, thanks to the Imperial Japanese Army.

panzerkampwagen: I think its funny that you do not realize just how much Japan needs the US military. First of all, Japan basically has no army. Who defends japan? Oh thats right the US does. So unless you want to defend your own sorry butt quit complaining. You act as if Japan is doing the US a favor by allowing the US to have bases on Okinawa. The only thing Japan does for those bases is pay Japanese workers that work on the bases. With North Korea nocking on your door ever so often with their missile launches and detonation of their new nuclear bomb it's no wonder Japan doesn't want to piss off the US and wants them to be "the cornerstone" of Japanese diplomatic relations. Such a crock!!!

America is backing Japan into a corner the only choices will be to accept what America Offers, come back with a counter offer (which America says it will refuse) or to go on her own path to self defense. While lacking an offensive force thanks to article 9, Japan has a formidable defensive force. Providing information on such as per the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Self-Defense_Forces

North Korea is only so much of a threat with a few low yield devices and the inability to quickly construct more. They are the bogymen created by the Americans to keep Japan inline.

We have to wait and see what happens. America is making Japan make a choice and doubt it will be what they want. All or nothing often results in nothing, face and the loss of face is a driving factor in Japan. What sort of self respect will result if the new government meekly gives into American demands?

America should leave. It is obvious that the Japanese people do not want the American forces there. They should leave and save themselves billions of dollars that it costs them to be there. Wikipedia is not a scholarly or trustable source. Anyone can write something on wikipedia. North Korea has recently been in close contact with China and has been receiving aid from China. It has not been said what North Korea has received from China. Korea may not have the capability to reproduce their weapons, but China most definitely does have that capability and China does not exactly like Japan all that much. THis whole situation is so shady. There has been nothing but mixed answers from both sides and it is getting tiring and very annoying. It basically comes down to finding out what Japan actually wants. Enough of the "we want to be more independent but still wan the us to be the cornerstone for japanese diplomacy." Enough of the political circling around the issue and deal with it. The fact that Japanese government officials are saying conflicting things on the issue is ridiculous. What kind of self respect can you have if you send the people and other governments mixed messages constantly? (The US government is good at that too...)If Japan's self defense force is so great than why is the US in Japan? They should just leave.

@broha114: Why do you think US insists on staying in Japan? Loosing territorial as well as political influence in regions close to their newborn economical opponent (aka China) will be devastating to the US government. Hence, why do you think Japan still hasn't been able to sign a peace treaty with Russia? (even though many attempts were already made by both sides).

Quit using excuses such as military threats from Japan's neighbor countries. The modern world isn't as helpless and retarded as you may think. In the past few decades the only initiators of military conflicts were the US and only the US. If Japan takes the right decision and tells US to get lost, it'll not only prove to be beneficial to Japan by terminating pointless violence and citizen frustration, but also give Japan new opportunities in forming new and reliable economical as well as military partnerships.

Only the US a initiator of military conflicts? Hardly.

The moving of bases was scheduled and money spent by all parties is being lost the longer delays are dragged out because both nations have already started the process before the current government in Japan got elected.