Naha, April 3 - In his regular monthly press conference, Consul General Kevin Maher stated that the U.S. military facilities realignment plan is progressing as scheduled with only minor delays. He expressed the U.S. government's expectation that the plan will be implemented on schedule in order to reduce the burden on Okinawa of the U.S. military presence.

Regarding Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) issues, he stated that it is unfortunate some politicians and groups are using recent incidents involving military personnel for political purposes by calling for fundamental revision of the SOFA, when in fact the SOFA functioned smoothly in dealing with these recent incidents. He stressed both the U.S. and Japanese Governments agree there is no need to discuss revising the SOFA, but that we will continue, as we have been doing for quite a while, to discuss improving the operation of the SOFA.

He also explained that with respect to claims the SOFA is "unequal," one must keep in mind that the SOFA is the basic arrangement for the conditions under which U.S. military personnel, who are here under the Security Treaty for the defense of Japan and for contributing to the peace and stability of the Far East, will be stationed in Japan. Under Article 6 of the Treaty, these are the two U.S. responsibilities. Japan's responsibility under Article 6 is to provide gfacilities and areash to U.S. forces in Japan. Our security relationship in this sense is "asymmetrical," but asymmetrical and "unequal" do not have the same meaning. Consul General Maher also stated that he finds it strange that some are demanding the SOFA be revised so that US military personnel, who are in Japan for the defense of Japan and who are prepared to sacrifice their lives for the defense of Japan if needed, should be required to pay taxes to Japan.

In answering the questions on the crime prevention measures being studied by the U.S. military, Consul General Maher stated that the military is currently considering increasing the numbers and expanding the areas of coverage for courtesy patrols. The question of conducting joint patrols and installing surveillance cameras are still under consideration as they need to be coordinated with the Japanese Police and municipalities concerned.

The press conference was well attended as usual by members of the media and was widely reported in both the print and television media.