Japan and US hold talks on Futenma relocation issue; Japan to provide food aid worth 540 million yen to Haiti; Japan along with the US and South Korea seeks UNSC resolution against North Korea’s upcoming ‘satellite’ launch; The Japanese government issues
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    • According to reports, during a recent talks held in Washington between officials from Japan and the US, both sides discussed key defense issues between the two countries, including the promotion of the relocation plan of the US Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Ginowan in Okinawa (in Japan) and the reassessment of the roles of the Japanese SDF and US forces in Japan. 1
    Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, during his recent meeting with visiting Haitian President Michel Martelly, pledged to provide food aid worth 540 million yen to Haiti to deal with its ongoing acute food shortage. 2

    Japan along with the US and South Korea has entered into talks to demand strong resolution from the UN Security Council imposing strong sanctions on North Korea if Pyongyang goes ahead with its plan to launch a satellite. The North has recently announced its plan to launch a satellite anytime during December 10-22 this year. However, Japan, the US and South Korea strongly suspect that instead of a satellite, Pyongyang is disguised test of a long-range ballistic missile. 3 Meanwhile, the Japanese government has already decided to intercept North Korean missile using the missile defense system if the missile strays over Japanese territory. 4

    In a significant development, the US Senate recently approved a legislative amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2013 to acknowledge Japan’s administration of the Senkaku islands and reaffirm US commitment to defending that territory under the bilateral security treaty between the US and Japan. However, the amendment also maintains that the US “takes no position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands” and “the unilateral actions of a third party will not affect” the US acknowledgement of Japan’s administration over the islands. 5

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