"I don't know what the exact figures will be as we are (just starting) to make the estimates. However, they're not going to run in the order of ¥2 trillion or ¥3 trillion ($17.8 billion to $26.7 billion," Nukaga said on public broadcaster NHK.

On May 1, Japan and the United States approved the final details of a far-reaching plan to realign American forces in Japan by 2014 after months of haggling.

The plan's cost was not released, but Japanese officials said the government would shoulder most of the relocation costs.

U.S. Defense Deputy Undersecretary Richard Lawless surprised Japanese officials in late April by estimating Tokyo's burden at $26 billion, which is more than 60 percent of Japan's annual defense budget of $42 billion.

The realignment plan covers the relocation of airfields and aircraft as well as the transfer of thousands of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 13, 2006
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