The U.S. Pacific Command has estimated that it will take at least $9 billion, or about 1.07 trillion yen, to equip Guam for the arrival of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force from Okinawa, U.S. military sources said Wednesday.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Japan is expected to shoulder part of the cost for the relocation, which the two countries agreed on.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Tokyo plans to put up the money by making the unprecedented move of enacting a special law to finance the construction of overseas U.S. military facilities.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The U.S. official thinks Japan's money could be used to build the new headquarters, drill sites and hospitals for the unit, according to the sources.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The relocation of the unit, based in Uruma, Okinawa, was put forward in an interim report on the military realignment Japan and the United States adopted during bilateral security talks last month.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The relocation plan involves about 6,000 marines, most from the Expeditionary Force, with the remaining 1,000 to be moved to other areas in Japan, according to the sources.</PARAGRAPH> <SUBHEAD> High-speed ship eyed</SUBHEAD> <PARAGRAPH> WASHINGTON –

Japan is considering using a high-speed ship developed jointly for commercial use by Japanese shipbuilders to transport U.S. forces, sources said Wednesday.

The move is being made as part of the interim report on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. It is, however, unclear whether the Techno Super Liner will actually be used because details of Japan's obligation in mutual logistics support activities -- including the transportation of U.S. Marines -- have not been decided, the sources said.

It is also unclear whether the high-speed vessel is capable of handling the logistics support activities, they said.

The Techno Super Liner was initially designed to connect Tokyo with Chichijima Island, some 1,000 km away. The new ship cuts one-way travel time from 26 hours to 17 hours.

However, the plan by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry was canceled because of high fuel prices.

Developed at a cost of about 11.5 billion yen, the ship is one of the world's largest aluminum vessels and can transport 740 passengers. Its maximum speed is 70 kph.

The interim realignment report, adopted on Oct. 29 by foreign and defense affairs ministers of Japan and the United States, includes shifting 6,000 marines from Okinawa to Guam.

The interim report also calls for strengthening cooperation in logistics support activities, including transport of marines.

A transport ministry official welcomed the plan to use the Techno Super Liner to transport marines, but added that the central government cannot decide alone how to use the ship, which is owned by private companies.