The United States will remove 7,000 Marines from Okinawa in a major overhaul of American troops and bases in Japan under a US global plan to make its military more flexible, top officials said.
The base realignment unveiled by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshinori Ohno, also boosts bilateral military co-operation in areas ranging from disaster relief to ballistic missile defines to counterproliferation.
Japan's embrace of a sweeping plan to build up joint defences with the United States signals Tokyo's acceptance of a growing military responsibility in the world and concern about the ambitions of North Korea and China, analysts said.
"This relationship must and is in fact evolving to remain strong and relevant," said Rumsfeld, whose Pentagon has long urged Japan to contribute more to global security.
Ohno said "we are in fact opening a new era" in the evolution of the bilateral alliance beyond its initial narrow role of protecting Japan to cover contingencies in areas surrounding the Pacific Ocean island nation.
"We're now talking about joint activities in various areas between Japan and the United States in order to improve the peace security around the world," he said.
Ohno, in a nod to sensitive public opinion at home and in neighbouring Asian countries invaded by Imperial Japan, stressed that Japanese activities would adhere to its war-renouncing constitution and "not involve use of force."
China was upset after a February round of US-Japan talks when the two allies listed Taiwan as a mutual security concern. Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which has been split politically from the mainland since 1949.
Okinawa grievances
The removal of 7,000 of the 18,000 US Marines based on Okinawa is part of an effort to reduce grievances on the southern Japanese island over crime, accidents, noise and environmental problems with American bases and troops.
The Marines to be taken out of Okinawa, home to most of the 50,000 US troops in Japan, will be transferred to Guam and other areas within six years, US officials said.
The agreement, which was also endorsed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, does not mention potential adversaries by name.
But it said the two sides "underscored the need to pay attention to modernization of military capabilities in the region."
Japan and the United States, most recently with Rumsfeld's trip to Beijing last week, have raised concerns that China's rapid military build-up could destabilize the Pacific region.
The agreement includes plans to install powerful US X-band radar system to track ballistic missile attacks on Japan and to expand bilateral defines planning, intelligence co-operation and military training.
The allies agreed to set up military facilities at US and Japanese military bases in Japan, including an operations co-ordination centre and an air command and control centre at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo, the statement said.
On Thursday, the United States said it would for the first time base a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan starting in 2008, after the only country ever hit with atomic bombs dropped its longstanding resistance to the move.
