Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda visited the White House to hold talks with President Obama, with regards to the military in Japan. The US met last week with Japanese officials to discuss the military move of 9,000 marines from Okinawa to Guam and Hawaii. There is quite a bit of friction between Asia and the US right now. The talks carried out on Monday were designed to help alleviate some of the pressure to help tighten allied agreements.
The new discussions have included the Japanese military relocating to places such as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. If the relocation takes place it would mean joint training for both the US and Japan. Relationships with Japan have been somewhat pressured since 2009, which is one reason that Obama seems to be focusing on the US policy in the Pacific region in how to make things better economically and with the military.
Japan is upset with the military being in Okinawa, citing issues such as crime and violence with the marine members. At the beginning of the talks it seemed as if half of the military would not move out of Japan, but there are some new choices in that many may head to Guam while the rest return to Hawaii. Very few marines may remain in Japan at the Okinawa base if Japan wins the discussions of the recent weeks, although the US is hoping for a better compromise. The US also wants to remain on hand if certain countries become more of a threat.
Jon Huser