JAPAN LOOKS TO REINTERPRET COUNTRY'S MILITARY ROLE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Hagel, Onodera Discuss Reinterpretation of Japan’s Constitution

DOD

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has held his first meeting with his Japanese counterpart since the government in Tokyo announced it would reinterpret the country’s pacifist constitution to allow Japan to take on greater military responsibilities beyond self-defense.

Hagel met at the Pentagon today with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and in a joint press conference afterward said the United States strongly supports the move, calling the decision by Japan’s government bold and historic. If approved by parliament, Hagel said the change would enable the U.S. ally “to significantly increase its contribution to regional and global security and expand its role on the world stage.”

The United States and Japan will work together now to revise U.S.-Japan defense guidelines. “Today, we confirm that these new guidelines should be in place by the end of this year,” Hagel said. The revisions will allow Japan to participate more fully in such areas as ballistic missile defense, counterproliferation, counterpiracy, peacekeeping, and a wide range of military exercises.

The two countries also will be able to work more closely together on maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and other areas, Hagel said. “We can raise our alliance to a new level, and we intend to do that,” he said.
The two said they discussed what the United States and Japan will do to modernize the alliance to ensure it is prepared to address emerging threats and challenges. Onodera said he and Hagel also discussed security in the broader Asia Pacific region.

Hagel reiterated the longstanding U.S. position on a territorial dispute that the Senkaku Islands, also claimed by China, are under Japan’s administrative control and fall under the U.S.-Japan mutual security treaty.

“The United States opposes any attempts by any country to change the status quo through destabilizing unilateral actions, and we oppose any effort to restrict overflight or freedom of navigation,” Hagel said. China declared an air defense zone over the islands last year.

Both defense leaders stressed the importance of good relations with China.

DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL THANKS JAPAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER ONODERA FOR FUTENMA EFFORTS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Secretary Thanks Japan's Defense Minister for Futenma Efforts
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today thanked Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera for the Japanese government’s efforts in securing approval of the landfill permit request to build a replacement facility at Camp Schwab-Henoko Bay for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

In a statement summarizing the telephone conversation between the two defense leaders, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, called the new facility “a critical part of the realignment of U.S. forces on Okinawa.”
Hagel also noted the importance of the recent agreement by the United States and Japan to negotiate a framework to supplement the status of forces agreement on environmental matters, Kirby said.

In addition, the press secretary said, Hagel and Onodera discussed the implementation of several initiatives announced in October, including the deployment of a second TPY-2 missile defense radar to Japan and the launch of a forward-looking revision of the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines, in which the two nations agreed on the importance of a transparent process.

"Secretary Hagel underscored the importance of Japan taking steps to improve relations with its neighbors, and to promote cooperation in advancing the shared goals of regional peace and stability,” Kirby said. “Secretary Hagel said he looked forward to continued bilateral discussions on strengthening the alliance to meet the security challenges of the 21st century."