Future of U.S. Bases Bolstered in Japan

JACOB M. SCHLESINGER and PETER SPIEGEL The Wall Street Journal 05/23/2010 14:47

Protesters shout slogans in front of the Okinawa government office Sunday in Naha, southern Japan.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama gave up on a bedrock campaign pledge and accepted a longstanding U.S. proposal for positioning American troops in Japan, backing down from a battle with Washington as the two nations grapple with North Korea's aggression and China's rising power in the region.

The move hands the Obama administration an important foreign-policy victory, allowing Washington to avoid what, for a time, appeared to be an unwelcome need to rearrange its regional defense strategy in North Asia while fighting two wars and navigating other tense diplomatic and economic tussles around the world.

Mr. Hatoyama cited "political uncertainties remaining in East Asia," for his change of heart, saying, "we cannot afford to reduce the U.S. military deterrence." His decision comes after a rise in tensions in the region, including North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean naval vessel and heightened Chinese military activity in Japanese waters.

Beyond the specifics of the Marine bases in Japan, Mr. Hatoyama's reversal is significant as a reaffirmation of Tokyo's support for the U.S.-Japan security alliance, the pillar of American military policy in the Pacific.

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