Japan and the United States are negotiating to strengthen their joint operations and cooperation in the event of military emergency in Japan, and could reach an agreement as early as June, the leading Asahi Shimbun daily reported Thursday.

Under the plan, Japan will allow the US military to use some Japanese civilian facilities, such as harbors and airports, if emergencies pop up.

Military emergencies would also include a flare-up across the Taiwan Straits, the paper said.

Japan wants the United States to realign its decades-old heavy military presence here in the face of growing outcry from regions hosting US bases to reduce their burden.

By offering civilian facilities, Tokyo hopes the Pentagon will become more receptive to eliminating certain US facilities in Japan, the newspaper said.

On the other hand, Tokyo is actively pursuing a closer defense cooperation with Washington to deal with what it says the new threats in East Asia, and seeking a greater role for itself in such a partnership.

The agreement is expected to be announced in written documents in June if talks go smoothly. Subsequently, the two sides would be drawing up plans in the years to come for different contingencies in the vicinity of Japan, according to the report.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2005)