By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

THE Security Committee of Japan’s lower house, or the House of Representatives, has passed a bill aimed at facilitating the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, including the transfer of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
According to the Kyodo news agency, the bill was passed at the committee by a majority vote of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its minor coalition partner, the New Komeito party, in absence of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party, who boycotted the session.
Under the bill, local governments which host or are located near bases where the U.S. military presence is expected to be substantial will be given state subsidies according to their degree of cooperation with the central government in implementing a set of realignment plans constituted by Japan and the United States in May 2006.
The broad realignment plans have induced a spate of protests in affected Japanese cities and regions.
To prevent this from happening on Guam, a series of scoping meetings has been scheduled to discuss the relocation of the Marines. Department of Defense and other federal officials have assured that all the feedback given during the meetings will be fully considered.
According to Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Philip Grone, the military and the federal government recognize that the public comment process is critically important.
“I am quite certain that the Navy will take all the public comments from wherever they come — from the governor down to the average citizen — quite seriously as we build up the planning necessary to execute this extensive and significant series of moves to enhance national security,” Grone said.
Grone added that the Department of Defense is working with local leaders and residents in areas around the world that have U.S. military installations on issues that are beneficial to both the community and the military facility.
“That places a great deal of premium on planning, and it places a great deal of premium on dialogue. And in that context, it is completely appropriate and necessary to take those comments very seriously. It does not mean that the Navy will agree with every comment but the fact is that those comments will be taken seriously, and they will be assessed,” Grone said.
“We’ve changed a lot of proposals from time to time as a result of public comment, so it is a very valuable part of the process,” he added.