Japan and the United States failed Friday to seal a deal on redeploying US troops, remaining at odds over how much each side should pay but reaching an agreement on a controversial air base.
The two allies already missed a March 31 deadline for finalising the plan that would withdraw 8,000 of the more than 40,000 US troops in Japan. "We will continue profound negotiations in order to reach an agreement," Koizumi said.
Japan and the United States are expected to hold another two-day round of talks on realignment from April 24 in Washington, Jiji Press reported. A two-day meeting in Tokyo, the second round of talks this month, appeared to make progress over Futenma Air Station, which has been a major source of grievances on the southern island of Okinawa.
"We reached an agreement on the Futenma project," US Deputy Under-secretary of Defence Richard Lawless said, as quoted by Kyodo News. "We have accepted it as operationally workable."
"We're very pleased with the progress of discussions," Lawless was quoted as saying. "We are looking for creative ways to resolve all of the remaining issues."
The plan's first draft, agreed in October, called for dismantling the noisy air base in the crowded urban area of Ginowan.
But leaders of Okinawa, which hosts half of the US troops in Japan, had initially opposed the plan as Futenma's facilities would be moved elsewhere on the island and not removed from the province.
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