Q+A-Japan, U.S. differ over security issues

TOKYO, Nov 2 - Japan and the United States remain divided over a range of security issues ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's first visit to Tokyo as leader next week, fuelling concerns about their half-century old alliance.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who won a landslide election victory in August, has vowed to steer a more independent diplomatic course from Washington compared with the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party he defeated.

Following are questions and answers on some of the issues:

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO U.S. FORCES IN JAPAN?

Japan, whose own forces are restricted by its pacifist constitution, hosts about 47,000 U.S. military personnel, a source of irritation for communities near military bases, with many complaints about crime, noise, pollution and accidents.

The ruling Democratic Party's election manifesto promised to rethink a planned redeployment of U.S. troops and propose amendments to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) under which U.S. troops operate in Japan.

Washington and Tokyo have agreed to ease the burden of U.S. bases on the southern island of Okinawa by closing a 4,000-strong U.S. Marine Corps air base in the centre of a town and moving it to a less populated area in the north of the island.

The deal means 8,000 Marines will be moved from Okinawa, partly at Japan's expense, to the U.S. territory of Guam.

But many residents of Okinawa, which suffered one of the bloodiest battles of World War Two and remained under U.S. control until 1972, are dissatisfied with the plan to relocate Futenma air base for environmental and other reasons.

Hatoyama has said the Marine base at Futenma should be moved off Okinawa, but his government has not agreed on an alternative site, although the foreign minister has suggested merging Futenma's functions with a U.S. air force base on the island.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates last month pressed Japan to resolve the issue ahead of Obama's visit. Washington wants to put an end to years of discussions about the project, which is currently scheduled to be completed in 2014.

HOW FAR WILL JAPAN BACK U.S. MILITARY ACTIVITIES?

Hatoyama said he will not renew the mandate for Japanese ships on a refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, which expires in January.

U.S. officials say the decision is up to Japan, but that they would welcome an alternative contribution to Afghan security.

Officials including Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada have said Japan's future contributions would likely be civilian rather than military. Japanese media said at the weekend that the government was preparing up to $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan, to be announced during Obama's visit.

WHAT LINE WILL THE NEW GOVT TAKE ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Japan has long been ambivalent about nuclear arms.

Many Japanese use the fact that Japan is the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks as a platform to campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Hatoyama backs Obama's calls for a world free of nuclear arms and has promised to uphold Japan's three "non-nuclear principles" banning the making, possession or introduction into the country of nuclear arms.

He has also said he will seek a U.S. pledge not to bring nuclear-armed vessels into Japanese ports.

But Japan benefits from a nuclear "umbrella" provided by Washington, something many see as important given China's growing military might and North Korea's nuclear programme.

HOW WILL JAPAN'S ASIA STRATEGY CHANGE?

Hatoyama advocates a new East Asian Community modelled after the European Union, prompting some concerns in Washington that the grouping might exclude the United States.

Hatoyama wants to deepen ties with China and has said he will stay away from Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine to war dead, seen by many in Asia as a symbol of Japan's military aggression in the early 20th century.