Japanese PM's US tour more of symbolism for ties

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's visit to the United States culminated in a joint statement that reaffirmed the "indispensability" of the Japan-US alliance. But the visit may carry more symbolic meaning than generally assumed.  

Noda is the first Japanese prime minister to make a visit to Washington since the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came to power in 2009. Despite the great significance attached to the visit, observers did not expect Noda's trip to make much headway in resolving the outstanding issues handicapping Japan-US relations, the  brawl between the two countries over controversial US base in Okinawa for instance.

Observers noted the US-Japan relations experienced a bumpy ride after the DPJ took power because the ruling party decided to renegotiate a controversial Okinawa deal reached by the two nations in 2006.

Yukio Hatoyama, the first prime minister of the DPJ-led government, rekindled hopes among the Japanese public that the Futenma base could be moved out of Okinawa island. But the Japanese government later backed down and settled for the 2006 deal which required relocation of the base within the island. The inconsistency was believed to have rattled the long-stable ties between Tokyo and Washington.

In a gesture to turn a new chapter in bilateral ties, Tokyo struck an accord with Washington on Friday that allows the USto move 9,000 Marines from Okinawa island to other locations in the Asia-Pacific region. Among them, 5,000 will go to Guam, and the rest will be relocated to Hawaii, Australia and other locations in the region.

The deal, which came just days before Noda's visit, won applause from Washington. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that he was pleased by the US-Japan agreement.

The agreement showed the two sides' intention to ease the long- time tension over the relocation of the Futenma base in Okinawa which is host to about half of the 47,000 US troops in Japan. However, the plan is still widely resisted by locals in Okinawa who demand the Futenma base be moved out of the island. Analysts noted the recent deal between the two countries only to separate thorny issue from others and the outlook of solving them remains uncertain.

Another issue that may cast a shadow on the Japan-USrelations centers around the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a US-led free trade deal in the Pacific Rim. But the joint statement on Tuesday only reiterated their readiness to advance the bilateral consultations on the deal, reflecting a gap between the two governments. Washington expected Tokyo to play a positive role in pushing TPP but the Japanese side has been elusive on the issue, due to criticism from farmers who feared that the deal would destroy their livelihoods.

While the two key issues remain unresolved, the two sides chose to focus on the broader issue of security alliance, making the summit a showcase of solidarity.

"It is true that any alliance commitments are symbolic in many ways, but the symbolism the newly reaffirmed Japan-US alliance commitments carries should not be underestimated," said Hiroyasu Akutsu, senior fellow with the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), in a reply to a written interview by Xinhua.

"Because in light of the rapidly changing security situation in the Asia-Pacific, it, I believe, is aimed not only to show the leaders'forward-looking attitude but also to give a new momentum to the implementation of the existing bilateral alliance agreements, including, especially, the common strategic objectives which were revalidated and updated last year," Akutsu said.