The United States is reviewing the role of its military bases in Japan in line with its plans for global troop redeployment (or "force transformation" as the U.S. Defense Department calls it). This is raising concerns that some realignment plans involving U.S. forces stationed here might exceed the geographical and operational limits set by the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should stick to his stated position that these plans should be carried out within the framework of the treaty.
The government is not necessarily united on this issue. It is now in talks with the U.S. administration to coordinate views. Internal reviews are also under way, including discussions among the three Cabinet ministers concerned: Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, and Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono.
One realignment plan calls for moving the U.S. Army's 1st Corps headquarters in the state of Washington to Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture. The U.S. is said to be giving top priority to this plan as an integral part of relocating 5th Air Force headquarters at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo to 13th Air Force headquarters in Guam.