KYODO: Japan, U.S. Agree; 4,700 Marines to Guam; Delinked from Progress on Futenma Move (Feb 4)
Guam - Japan's Kyodo News Service is reporting that the U.S. and Japan have agreed to make revisions to the 2006 Guam International Agreement that will bring substantially fewer Marines to Guam and delink their transfer here from progress on relocating the Marines Futenema Air Station in Okinawa. Kyodo quotes un-named U.S. and Japanese diplomatic sources as saying that the actual negotiations to work out the details of a revised agreement will begin in Washington Monday and that they expect the revised agreement will "likely" be officially announced February 13, according to the report.
READ the Kyodo report below:
TOKYO (Kyodo)--Japan and the United States have agreed to move 4,700 Marines in Okinawa to Guam, delinking the troops' transfer from the contentious plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station within the southern island prefecture as stipulated in a road map for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, diplomatic sources from both countries said Saturday....


Bordallo Briefed by DoD on Downsized Guam Buildup (Feb 4)
Guam - Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo told a closed door meeting of the island's Democrat Senators Friday morning that she was briefed by Department of Defense Officials ahead of this weekend's reported deal to make substantial changes to the Guam Buildup plan. When contacted for comment on the briefing she received from DoD and what she told the island's Democrat Senators about it, Congresswoman Bordallo's office would only release the following statement: "Congresswoman Bordallo has been in contact with senior Department of Defense officials about their efforts to address concerns raised by the U.S. Senate with regard to the military build-up on Guam." Democratic Senators contacted by PNC News declined to comment on Bordallo's remarks to them, but those familiar with the Friday meeting tell PNC that the Congresswoman revealed that she had been notified ahead of time by DoD that substantial changes were in the works for the Guam Buildup, although she did not go into detai...


Japan and Australia Join U.S. Air Force & Navy This Week in Joint Training on Farallon and Area 517 (Feb 4)
Guam -  The U.S. Air Force and Navy, Japan Air Self Defense and Royal Australian Air Force will conduct training on the island of Farallon de Medinilla (FDM) and Warning Area 517 (W-517).  

The Navy will conduct training on FDM on the following dates and times:  

* MONDAY  Feb. 6 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
* TUESDAY Feb. 7 from 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy, Japan Air Self Defense and Royal Australian Air Force will conduct training on FDM on the following dates and times:  

* WEDNESDAY Feb. 8 from 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
* THURSDAY Feb. 9 from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Air Force and Navy will conduct training at W-517 on the following dates and times:  

* TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY Feb. 7- 8 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Air Force will conduct training at W-517 on the following dates and times:  

* THURSDAY and FRIDAY Feb. 9-10 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The general public especially fishermen, commercial pilots and marine tour operators are advised to stay clear from the area during the times and dates ind...


KYODO: Japan, U.S. Now in Talks to Shift Some Marines to Other Areas Instead of Guam (Feb 4)
Guam - Japan's Kyoto News Service, which on Wednesday first reported a major shift in the deployment of  Marines to Guam, is now reporting that Japan and the U.S. are currently in talks in Tokyo to move those Marines "to other Pacific areas instead of Guam." Despite a Reuters report Friday quoting officials in Tokyo and Washington as saying no final decision has been reached and that they remain committed to a deployment of Marines to Guam, Kyodo is reporting: TOKYO, Feb. 3, Kyodo.    20:49

Japan and the United States are in talks on shifting part of around 8,000 U.S. Marine Corps troops in Okinawa Prefecture to other Pacific areas instead of Guam, sources close to Japan-U.S. relations said Friday.

Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told reporters that the two countries are now ''calmly'' discussing issues related to the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan in a ''flexible'' manner.

But Gemba refused to go into details of the talks.

The transfer of Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam i...


REUTERS: Officials in Tokyo & Washington Down Play Bloomberg Report (Feb 4)
Guam - Officials in both Tokyo and Washington are down playing Friday's Bloomberg report which quoted unnamed U.S. Officials as saying the Obama Administration had decided to reduce the Marine deployment to Guam to just 4,500 and rotate the roughly 4-thousand other Marines to various bases throughout the Pacific.   According to a Reuters report, the United States and Japan "remain committed" to the 2006 Guam International Agreement to transfer 8,600 U.S. Marines from their current base on the Japanese island of Okinawa  here to Guam. Reuters reports that Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba called reporters to a special briefing in Tokyo Friday night and told them: "The report [the Bloomberg report] may generate misunderstanding. We are in talks with the U.S. side, with flexibility in our mind, to seek ways to advance the relocation of Futenma airbase and the shift of Okinawa-based U.S. Marines to Guam, while upholding policy of reducing the burden on Okinawa in a timely manner...