US urges Japan to decide on military base

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada have failed to reach a deal on a dispute over a US military base. But they have pledged not to let it derail the broader relationship.

After an 80-minute discussion with Okada in Hawaii, Clinton said she urged Tokyo to follow through on a deal to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futenma base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

Okada repeated that the Japanese government would wait to make a final decision about Fuetnma by May. He added that his country remained committed to the broader US-Japan security pact, which marks its 50th anniversary this year.

The Futenma base, home to about 4,000 US Marines, is seen by local residents as an unfair burden in maintaining the US-Japan security alliance.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) greets Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada as he arrives for a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Honolulu.(AFP/Mandel Ngan)