Japan, U.S. agree to cooperate on thorny base relocation issue
20:10, May 21, 2010 
Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) shakes hands with her Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada before their meeting in Tokyo May 21, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Japan and the United States agreed Friday to cooperate on the settlement of the prickly issue concerning the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps base in Okinawa by the end of May.
During talks between Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the two sides are of one mind that further efforts to settle the issue of where to move the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa by May 31.
Clinton told a joint conference after their meeting that Washington hopes to find a solution that would be politically and operationally sustainable and benefit both countries.
The U.S. government "continues to work closely with Japan ...to
find a way forward that serves the interest of both our countries and the arrangement that is operationally viable and politically sustainable," she said.
Local media reported that Tokyo and Washington are set to reach a fresh accord on the relocation of the U.S. military base May 31, and foreign and defense officials of the two countries continued their preparation Friday on the pact expected to be announced on May 28.
Okada and Clinton also discussed issues of shared concerns such as Iran's uranium enrichment and the sinking of a South Korean warship.
"It is important for Japan, the United States and South Korea to cooperate," Okada said.
"We confirmed that we will handle the issue while continuing to communicate well with each other," he added.
En route to Shanghai, the U.S. secretary of state stopped over in Tokyo Friday for talks with Okada and Prime minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Source: Xinhua
 |
（Editor：祁澍文）
Children visit the Confucian temple in Tainan, southeast China's Taiwan, Sept. 27, 2011. A ceremony will be held at the temple to commemorate Confucius (551-479 BC) on Sept. 28, the birthday of the ancient Chinese thinker and educationist and the annual Teacher's Day of Taiwan in honor of him. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai) 
Children visit the Confucian temple in Tainan, southeast China's Taiwan, Sept. 27, 2011. A ceremony will be held at the temple to commemorate Confucius (551-479 BC) on Sept. 28, the birthday of the ancient Chinese thinker and educationist and the annual Teacher's Day of Taiwan in honor of him. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai) 
Children visit the Confucian temple in Tainan, southeast China's Taiwan, Sept. 27, 2011. A ceremony will be held at the temple to commemorate Confucius (551-479 BC) on Sept. 28, the birthday of the ancient Chinese thinker and educationist and the annual Teacher's Day of Taiwan in honor of him. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai) 
Fourth-grader Ma Lianghai (left) and third-grader Ma Linxiang are engrossed in their work during art class at Zhaojia Elementary School in Dongxiang, Gansu province, on Sept 18. (Photo by Xu Jingxing/China Daily) 
A model presents a creation by Jannette Klein University, during the DFashion Mexico, Spring-Summer 2011-2012, in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, on Sept. 26, 2011. (Xinhua/Claudio Cruz)
The wax figure of actress Audrey Hepburn is seen at the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong in Hong Kong, south China, Sept. 27, 2011. The wax figure of Audrey Hepburn was unveiled in Hong Kong on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Chen Xiaowei)
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6994798.pdf