Five members of the Democratic Party of Japan, headed by coleader Yukio Hatoyama, will visit the United States between Sept. 7 and 13 to discuss security matters and the party's foreign policy with U.S. experts.
The group of DPJ legislators will meet with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anan, as well as U.S. Undersecretary of State Timothy Wirth and others. Hatoyama will deliver a speech at the Japan Society in New York and at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C.
Hatoyama told a news conference Sept. 4 that one of the aims of the trip is to discuss reducing the number of U.S. marines stationed in Okinawa. The party, created about a year ago, released a draft on foreign and security policy Sept. 4 that calls for Japan taking active roles in contributing to international security.
While recognizing the importance of maintaining the Japan-U.S. security treaty, the party will seek a "conditional stationing of U.S. troops," in which the scale and function of troop deployment in Japan changes in accordance with various situations.