Japan, U.S. seek to repair relationship

By F. J. Khergamvala

TOKYO, FEB. 24. Japan has exploited the submarine incident, and those preceding it, to maintain the pressure on the U.S., which in turn has reacted with humility, while postponing discussions of substance.

To cap all other steps to mollify Japanese public opinion, later this week, the U.S. is sending Adm. William J. Fallon, the Vice- Chief of Naval Operations, with a formal letter of apology from Mr. George W. Bush over the death of nine people following the sinking of a fishing boat by an American submarine. The healing of wounds was best done by the Bush Administration, and almost every Japanese media organ has recognised that. In a nation sick of cover-ups by public officials, this is in sharp contrast to the great ire against the initial cloak of secrecy presented by the U.S. Navy.

There is allround acknowledgement that there is a serious situation, if not a crisis, but the enormous depth, mutual interest, regional circumstances and business interests far outweigh other considerations. The silver lining is that both the Bush Administration and the post-Mori Government that takes over in Japan will go the extra mile to repair the relationship. There are the habitual critics of the U.S. Marines' presence in Okinawa who have seized upon a series of acts of personal misdemeanour to reiterate their demand that the forces pull back to Hawaii and Guam. Dr. Chalmers Johnson, the better known among the advocates of such a redeployment, wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Mr. Bill Clinton just did not have the credibility to influence the Pentagon to take such drastic steps. ``The U.S.S. Greeneville (the submarine involved in the February 10 accident) will be an important test case,'' of whether his team of former Defence Secretaries and retired Generals can get the ``services back into line.''

It is highly doubtful if the Japanese themselves have placed on their agenda such a drastic measure. Most indications are that the Japanese Defence Agency and the Foreign Ministry will reach an accommodation to apply the maximum psychological pressure to keep the U.S. publicly on the defensive to a point where incremental gains can accrue.

The Foreign Minister, Mr Yohei Kono is in Okinawa on a trip intended to speak to two audiences, as part of a bilateral damage limitation exercise. He will meet citizens' groups on the Status of Forces Agreement. And, he will meet top U.S. Marine Corps officials. Broadly, Japan seeks greater power for its own police to arrest and prosecute offending U.S. soldiers. The U.S. resists such demands, not just in Japan but in all sovereign bases. But, each incident in Okinawa has forced the U.S. into concessions.

The U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry ordered is only the fifth in history. The Defence Secretary has suspended the practice of civilians being at controls over certain operational vehicles at land, sea and in air.

It is premature to surmise that the incident will be used by Japan to adopt a more independent defence posture. What is likely is that the U.S. will have to be equally forceful, but less public in achieving its intention of getting Japan to contribute more troops and equipment for a wider regional role.

With a Japanese Prime Minister almost in a political paralysis, the task of explaining to the Japanese certain cultural differences and legal rights of Americans, as well as seeking quick redress from Washington DC, was left to the U.S. Ambassador in Tokyo, Mr. Thomas Foley, a Clinton appointee.

In a deft public performance over the past few days, Mr. Foley humbly explained certain cultural differences about retrieval of bodies and implications why Japanese demands for a personal media appearance by the submarine's skipper, Cmdr. Scott Waddle must be subordinated to his legal rights. Eventually, he promised the fullest transparency, made in the U.S., not Japan.

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Section  : International
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