WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Washington and Tokyo expect to complete a plan for realigning the U.S. military presence in Japan by March 30, Adm. William Fallon, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said Tuesday.
The ongoing negotiations "are nearing conclusion, with an agreed implementation plan expected by 30 March of this year," Fallon said in written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
His remarks came after sources from the Japanese government said earlier Tuesday that Japan plans to propose holding a top bilateral security meeting of defense and foreign ministers from April 1 to 2 to finalize the accord. The date deviates from an earlier agreement to do so by "no later than March 2006."
Japan was to table the implementation proposal at a senior working-level meeting that began Tuesday in Honolulu. The broad realignment plan was formed by the two nations in October.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld meanwhile repeated at a news conference Tuesday that the U.S. has no intention of making major changes to the October accord.
He also brushed off the large protest against the agreement that was staged last weekend in Okinawa.
Japan has called on the U.S. to compromise on some issues in crafting a final report and maintains the October accord was an "interim" report.
Rumsfeld stressed that the October accord was not a one-sided project.
It "is not our final report, it's a final report and it's something that we've negotiated out with the government of Japan."
Asked about the rally held by tens of thousands of protesters Sunday in Okinawa, Rumsfeld said: "If you've got millions of people in a country, there are always going to be different views.
"That's the way it is, and you expect that," he said. "That's what democracy's about."