U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (R) shakes hands with Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo October 20, 2009. The United States wants to stick to a deal on realigning U.S. troops in Japan, Defense Secretary Gates said on Tuesday, giving Japan's new government little room to move on an issue that could test ties.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)TOKYO, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday for talks with the new Democratic Party of Japan government, with the realignment of U.S. forces in the country and Afghanistan likely to be high on the agenda.
Gates has said that any alternative to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that was signed by the administration of President George W. Bush and the then-governing Liberal Democratic Party in 2006 had proven "unworkable."
There is, however, little chance that the DPJ will accept this statement, given its alliance with the Social Democratic Party in government, which is opposed to the U.S.-Japan military agreement as it stands, and also the unpopularity of U.S. forces in Okinawa.
"Japan is within its rights to want to insist that the whole SOFA agreement is renegotiated and there are real world consequences of political landslides," he said.
"The American side needs to recognize that. At the very least the U.S. will have to give the DPJ some face-saving concessions, "the professor added.
Japan's role in the Middle East is also likely to be on the agenda.
The DPJ has stated that it intends to end its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S. and other nations' forces in support of the conflict in Afghanistan. A law authorizing Japan forces to conduct the refueling mission will expire in January, and the government is unlikely to renew the mission after this.
The Hatoyama government has suggested it will be willing to help in the Middle East in other ways, with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada saying at a news conference earlier this month: "We are looking to the future to try and improve the situation in Afghanistan. I am sure there are a lot of different motivations for joining the Taliban, but one of them seems to be that people have no other sources of income. There for we are looking at offering income guarantees and vocational training so people will not have to turn to the Taliban but will be able to support their families in other ways."
Another issue likely to be on the agenda is the nuclear standoff with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). In recent months, the DPRK has refused to participate in the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing Pyongyang, which also include the U.S., Russia, Japan, China and South Korea, and Gates and his Japanese counterparts are likely to reaffirm their cooperation on this issue.
Gates visit is the first by a member of the Obama cabinet since the DPJ was swept to power in a landslide election victory in late August.
His two-day visit comes weeks before President Barack Obama is scheduled to hold talks in the country on Nov. 12 and 13.
